These Feelings
by JessieWills
Summary: When Josie Mardle first met Florian Dupont, she would never have believed she would one day be asking him to never go away. But how did they reach that point in their relationship where they couldn't cope without each other? My interpretation of the DuMardle plot, filling in those moments that weren't told in the series. I don't own Mr Selfridge.
1. Chapter 1

**And I'm back writing DuMardle stories instead of revising for my first year exams- typical!**

**So this story is going to be different to the other stories which have focused on DuMardle after the kiss. This story is going to be about all those moments in the show and also about the moments in between, basically I'm using my imagination to fill in the gaps in DuMardle moments.**

**Please review and let me know what you think. Also if you have anything you would like to see in this story or have ideas for any future stories but you don't want to write them or you want me to give it a go send to me via review or PM and I will try and give it a go!**

**I've got a long summer ahead of me in 2 weeks time and I'm going to need something to do and we have got to get the DuMardle stories up! **

**It may seem slow to begin with but that's because they've only just met but let me know your opinions and whether you want more or whether I should give up now.**

**Anyway, I shall shut up now and let you read the chapter…**

She still couldn't believe that there was a man living in her house.

An unmarried man living in her house with two single women.

She knew that this would become gossip the moment people found out. People would talk around the shop, her mind immediately going to Kitty Hawkins and her ability to spread even the smallest rumour around the store in a matter of minutes and if Roger found out…

She didn't even want to think about what Roger would say when he found out she had an unmarried young man living in the house with her.

An unmarried, rather handsome young man.

"Are you okay Josie?" Agnes asked as Josie glanced up at the younger woman who was sat in the living room with her. "You are blushing," she stated, Josie's head shaking as she glanced down at her lap, embarrassed. Why did her mind do this? She had agreed to let him stay only a couple of hours ago, she had failed to tell him to leave and now her mind was betraying her. It was allowing her to think such ridiculous things. Why had she just thought that he was handsome? She barely knew him. She had barely spent any time with him, even though he was now occupying one of the numerous spare bedrooms in her house. Why had she decided to think about that, especially when Agnes was sat in the same room as her?

"I'm fine, it is just hot in here," Josie lied as Agnes nodded slowly.

"I invited Victor to call around tomorrow evening, if that is alright with you?" Agnes asked quietly as Josie smiled across at her.

"Agnes this is your home too, you are quite welcome to invite whoever you want around," Josie responded before standing. "I should probably tell Mr Dupont that dinner will be served soon," Josie explained, aware of how nervous her voice suddenly sounded as Agnes nodded, watching her with concern.

"Would you like me to tell him Josie?" Agnes offered as Josie smiled and shook her head, aware that she was not covering up her worry as well as she wanted too.

"No Agnes, I must try and talk to him. He should at least feel comfortable in the house," she responded as Agnes nodded slowly, watching as Josie slowly moved across the living room before leaving. Approaching the stairs, Josie breathed out before she walked up them, trying to act strong as she moved towards the bedroom she had moved Florian into. "Mr Dupont?" Josie asked as she knocked her fist against his door, her hand moving to rest on her stomach as she waited for him to respond.

"Oui," Florian called out, Josie forcing a smile onto her face before she opened the door and stepped inside to see him sat on the bed, his fingers running across the violin that was resting on the bed. He clearly already treasured the instrument she had given him only hours ago. "It is truly a beautiful instrument Miss Mardle," he commented as her genuine smile grew on her face.

"I am glad that you like it," she admitted as Florian began to place the violin into the case. If someone had told her only months ago she would have an unmarried Belgian man living in the house with her, she would have laughed. This was not something that she did. She did not invite young unmarried men to live in her house with her, it was not something that she did.

"I love it," he almost corrected as she nodded slowly, continuing to watch him. His suitcase was resting on a nearby chair, unopened like he was not yet prepared to move into the room. It was almost like no one was occupying the bedroom. It was just the way she had left it that morning. Although from the size of the small suitcase, she guessed that he did not have many possessions on him. He had come from Paris, touring with his orchestra and he had to have left quickly. He had just the few items that he had taken to France with him to his name. "I can not thank you enough for allowing me to stay in your house with you and Miss Towler," he said quietly, breaking the silence that had begun to fill the room.

"It is your house now Mr Dupont and you are welcome to stay as long as you would like," she responded, continuing to smile at him as he nodded. "I came to tell you that dinner will be served soon, if you would like to join us," Josie immediately stated, remembering why she had left the safety of her living room.

"Of course," the Belgian responded before he stood up and moved towards the door, Josie glancing up at him as he continued to watch her. Standing nervously by the door as he stood beside her, Josie bit into her lip as he smiled weakly. "You really are kind Miss Mardle, allowing me to live in your house," he whispered as she smiled at him again before opening the door and walking out, her smile disappearing as she moved towards the stairs. What was she doing? Allowing this man to live in her house when she knew that people would talk. Victor Colleano would visit tomorrow evening, he would tell someone that she had a young man living in her house and before she could even respond it would be all around the shop and then Roger would find out. Roger who had stood in the lift with her and commented on the violin she had purchased, who had made her feel uncomfortable by his comments towards her, who had almost made her feel unwell by being so close to her.

"Josie?" Agnes asked, her voice causing Josie to glance up from where she had been standing silently on the last step. "Are you sure you are okay?" she questioned, Josie smiling weakly as she nodded slowly before glancing behind her to see Florian beginning to walk down the stairs.

"I'm fine," Josie whispered, moving past the younger woman towards her dining room while Agnes continued to wait for Florian.

"Good evening Miss Towler," Florian greeted as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Agnes please, we're going to be living together now, there is no need to be so formal. Miss Towler makes me feel like I am at work," the brunette smiled as they moved towards the dining room together.

"Where do you work?" Florian asked, trying to continue a conversation as they entered the room to see Josie already seated and dinner served.

"Selfridges, the shop, we both do actually," Agnes smiled as she looked across at Josie who nodded slowly, smiling weakly up at them as they sat down at the places that had been set out. "I design windows and displays. That was why I was in Paris. I was sent there to learn more about the displays they create," Agnes explained as Florian continued to listen, taking in everything she was saying as a large smile decorated his face.

"And you Miss Mardle?" Florian questioned, looking across at the older woman as she looked at him in silence.

"I am head of accessories," Josie admitted quietly, concern covering Agnes' face as she watched Josie. She had not seen her behave like this in a while. She seemed overly worried about something, something that was making her shy away. "Agnes creates some beautiful windows, you should come and see them one day. She has a real talent," Josie commented as Florian nodded.

"I would like that," Florian admitted as Agnes smiled across at him, aware of how awkward it was beginning to feel around the room as they fell into an uncomfortable silence and began to eat the meals in front of them. It was going to be a very awkward time if this was how it was going to be like between the three of them while Florian was living in the house.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

She couldn't sleep.

Again.

It was becoming more frequent, her inability to sleep. Ever since her relationship with Roger had ended five years ago, she had found it even more difficult to sleep. She knew she was lonely. That was part of the reason why she had asked Agnes to come and live with her, so she wouldn't be alone in such a large and silent house as well as giving Agnes someone else to live with while George was away. She had needed someone to fill some of the space. However, when she was alone in her room she found it almost impossible to get comfortable and sleep. Sighing, Josie quickly sat up before she brushed her fingers through her hair and glanced across at the door.

"Tea," she whispered to herself, her voice almost like a shout compared to the silence. She needed to distract herself. She needed to do something, kill some of the time ahead of her and hope she would find sleep after a while. Climbing out of the bed, Josie quickly found her dressing gown before pulling it around her body, tightening it around her figure before she moved towards the door. A cup of tea and then she would try again, she would try and sleep. Moving down the corridor in silence, Josie suddenly stopped at the sound of the someone groaning, almost like they were in pain. Looking across at the nearest bedroom, Josie bit into her lip as the groaning increased. Approaching Florian's bedroom door, Josie remained still as the noise from inside got louder, her fist gently knocking against the door before she moved her hand to the handle. Was she really about to enter a man's room in the middle of the night while dressed only in her nightclothes? But she was concerned about him. She wanted to make sure that he was okay. Breathing out, Josie slowly opened the door before stepping into the darkness. "Florian," she called out, moving in the direction of his bed before reaching out and turning on the nearby lamp. As the room filled with a dim light, Josie glanced across to see the Belgian turning in the bed, moaning in his sleep while sweat ran down his face. He looked awful and terrified. Moving closer, Josie quickly moved her hand to his shoulder before shaking him gently, her concern continuing to grow. "Florian," she said again, shaking him more forcibly as she moved to sit down on the edge of his bed. "Florian you need to wake up," she insisted, shaking him once more before his eyes suddenly opened and he began to breathe quickly. "Florian," she whispered as he sat up, still continuing to breathe quickly while she sat beside him. "You're in London, you're safe," she declared, trying to comfort him as he looked at her, suddenly embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as she shook her head. "Did I disturb you?" he asked quietly as she smiled weakly.

"I was already awake, you didn't wake me," she admitted as he nodded, resting back against the pillows while she glanced down at her outfit. As the room filled with silence, she became more aware of how underdressed she was and began to feel more uncomfortable. If anyone ever found out that she was sat in his room, in her nightclothes during the hours of the morning, she didn't want to think of the gossip that would be spread about her. "Would you like to talk about it?" she asked quietly, glancing up at him again as he remained silent. "You have no reason to be embarrassed," Josie whispered. "No one else needs to know, I won't tell anyone. It can just stay between the two of us," she admitted as he nodded before reaching into the bedside drawer, Josie remaining silent as he took out something.

"I dreamt about them," he admitted, passing her the photograph he had removed before she glanced down at the figures in the image.

"Your family?" she asked quietly as he nodded, looking down at the image she was holding as she focused on it.

"That's me," Florian admitted, pointing to the youngest child in the image. "My two brothers," he explained, his finger moving to the other boys in the photo. "And my sister," he whispered, determined to sound reasonably strong, while Josie remained silent, taking in the image of the four beaming children. "I was the youngest child," he admitted as she nodded, glancing up at him as he smiled weakly.

"I was the youngest too," Josie responded when he fell silent. "My brother locked me in a cupboard once when we were children," she laughed, remembering being stuck in the small space until her parents had arrived and unlocked the door, livid with her brother for locking her in.

"You have a brother," Florian commented.

"Had," Josie corrected. "He died a few months ago," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as she shook her head.

"We weren't very close, we hadn't talked in years," Josie responded before looking at him again. "Were you the only musician in the family Florian?" she asked quietly as he shook his head.

"My father, he taught me the violin. We used to listen to him play in the evenings when we were children," Florian admitted quietly as Josie continued to watch him, trying desperately to work out how to comfort him. She didn't know whether discussing his family was the best way to comfort him after his nightmares but he wanted to discuss his family and she was happy to listen, to comfort him as he came to terms with what he had lost.

"He did a wonderful job," Josie smiled as he stared at her, taking in her unpinned hair and how tired she looked. "You play beautifully, Agnes and I heard you practicing earlier. You're very talented," she complimented as he smiled weakly.

"Thank you," Florian responded before they fell silent for a moment. "I dreamt of them, I dreamt of the attack," he said nervously as she continued to sit beside him in silence. "Ever since I learnt of the attack, that the village was attacked, I've dreamt of them. I've dreamt of their deaths," he admitted, his eyes shutting in shame at his own weakness. He was supposed to be strong and yet he was being weak. He was crying in front of a woman he had known for less than twenty four hours.

"Florian," Josie whispered, noticing the look of embarrassment that continued to grow on his face. "You are allowed to be upset," she responded. "You have gone through worse than any of us could possibly imagine," Josie declared as he remained completely still in front of her. "You are allowed to have nightmares, no one will ever judge you for that but I promise, no one will find out from me."

"I should have been there," Florian whispered as she bit into her lip, hating how broken he was. She hated how upset this young man sounded. She hated how he had lost everything because of one attack. His home, his possessions, his family were all gone because of the war. "They needed me," he said quietly. "My family needed me and now, I do not even know whether…" he began before falling silent.

"I hate to say this but there is nothing you could have done Florian," Josie whispered as he continued to watch her, taking in how sad she looked. "You have not heard anything from them Florian, there is still a chance," she said quietly as he shook his head. He knew they were dead, deep down. He had heard nothing from his village and the reports he had received back had told him how terrible the violence had been. "Would you like me to get you anything?" Josie suddenly asked him, feeling useless as she watched the sadness grow on the young man's face. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to make him feel any better.

"I am fine, thank you," he responded, smiling weakly. "You have done so much for me already," he admitted quietly. "You have given me somewhere to live, you have bought me a beautiful violin and all I have done is disturb you in the middle of the night and tell you all my problems."

"I want you to feel like you can tell me your problems, I want you to have someone to talk too. You shouldn't have to keep them to yourself," Josie responded as he smiled weakly at her. "Do you feel like you could possibly sleep now?" she asked quietly as he nodded slowly, watching her as she stood up and wrapped her arms around her body.

"Good night Miss Mardle," Florian whispered when she moved towards the door.

"Josie," she said quickly as he looked across at her in confusion when she reached the doorway. "My name is Josie," she admitted as he smiled at her.

"Good night Josie," Florian responded as she bit into her lip for a moment.

"Good night Florian," she said quietly before leaving the room, shutting the door behind her before she breathed out.

What was she doing?

**So what do you think?**

**Love it? Hate it? Please review, let me know! **


	2. Chapter 2

**So I'm supposed to be revising for my two exams that are in just over a week but instead I am writing this because your response was so amazing and I am loving this story already. I am a major DuMardle shipper and I am determined to increase the amount of stories available, even if I have to write the majority myself.**

**Once again, thank you so much for the amazing response to the first chapter, I'm glad that you all enjoyed the first chapter and the idea for the story.**

"Do you think we should wake him?" Agnes questioned, glancing across at the dining room door before she returned to face the older woman. Florian had not turned up for breakfast that morning and Agnes was clearly concerned, Josie observed as she finished her cup of tea before smiling weakly. "Surely he will want something to eat," Agnes said quietly, clearly worried about the younger man as Josie continued to hold onto the empty cup. Josie knew that Florian was probably asleep and she wasn't prepared to wake him up when he hadn't fallen asleep till the early hours of the morning and he had no reason to be woken up. He needed to recover from what had happened recently, he needed to relax and sleep for as long as his body demanded.

"I think that he is exhausted and needs to sleep," Josie responded, aware that she had promised Florian not to tell anyone else about his nightmare. "He'll be fine Agnes," Josie said quietly before she stood up, her hand resting on Agnes' shoulder to reassure her as the younger woman glanced up at her. "I need to finish getting dressed now," Josie commented as she moved towards another table and began to pour another mug of tea while Agnes watched her in silence.

"You seem more comfortable about the idea of having Florian stay in the house," Agnes commented as Josie turned to face her, a small smile appearing on her face as she nodded slowly. She knew that she was more comfortable about having him stay with her. Although he was a young, unmarried man, he was so grateful for having somewhere to stay now that he had no home and Florian was so lovely, she didn't have the heart to dislike having him in her house. She had a large empty house and she had enjoyed the sound of music filling the corridors the previous day and having people to talk too. She had lived alone for so long, she enjoyed the company of both Agnes and Florian. Now that she and Florian had talked and she had begun to understand him, she now liked him. He was not just her lodger, she wanted him to be her friend as well, especially when they were living together.

"After you went to bed last night, we talked for a while," Josie explained, holding onto the warm drink as Agnes nodded slowly. "I am just going to finish getting dressed now," she stated as Agnes smiled, watching as the older woman slowly moved towards the door with the cup of tea in her hands. Walking up the stairs, Josie smiled weakly as she glanced across at Florian's door before moving towards, knocking against the wood of the door gently before waiting for a moment. Hearing no reply, Josie slowly opened the door before stepping into the dark room to find him lying in bed fast asleep. Smiling weakly, Josie approached the bed, resting the cup of tea down on the bedside table before looking at him. He looked so peaceful in his sleep, much more relaxed than the tense man she had been talking too earlier that morning. "Florian," Josie called out, standing beside the bed as he began to move. Opening his eyes, the musician stared up at her before sitting up and smiling weakly. "I'm sorry to disturb you."

"It is no problem, is something wrong?" he asked quietly as she shook her head.

"I brought you some tea Florian," she blurted out, the musician glancing at the cup before nodding slowly, still smiling at her. "Agnes and I are about to go to work, you can continue to sleep but I thought you would like a cup of tea," Josie explained nervously.

"Thank you Josie," he responded as she nodded and began to move towards the door. "Josie," Florian called out when she reached the door, the brunette turning to face him as he smiled across at her.

"Yes?"

"Thank you," he said again as confusion covered her face.

"It is just a cup of tea Florian," she smiled, his head shaking while she continued to watch him from the doorway.

"No, not the tea, but thank you for that too," he declared, standing up as she continued to watch him while he moved towards her. "Thank you for last night Josie," he whispered as she stared up at him, his hand moving to hold hers as she bit into her lip. He was holding her hand. Florian Dupont was holding her hand and she was allowing him. Why on earth was he holding her hand? No one ever held her hand, it felt odd to have someone holding onto it for no reason. "I needed to talk to someone, I just hope I did not disturb your evening," he explained as she shook her head before glancing down at their hands.

"I already told you, I was awake," she smiled. "I have problems sleeping sometimes," she admitted as he nodded slowly, continuing to hold her hand while they watched each other in silence. "You have no need to thank me for last night," she stated as he began to nod again, not knowing what else to say. "If you ever need to talk about anything, you can talk to me Florian. It really can be about anything, you don't need to keep it to yourself," Josie explained before she moved her hand out of his. "I have to go to work now," she stated.

"Yes," he whispered, moving away from her before glancing back at the tea again. "Thank you again, for the tea this time," he smiled as she laughed, opening the door in silence before she stepped out and closed it behind her. Resting her hands on her dress, Josie smiled as she glanced behind her before moving towards her own bedroom in order to finish getting ready for the day ahead of her.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Smiling across at Victor as they stood in the hallway of the house that evening after their quick tour around the house, Agnes laughed before turning when she heard footsteps on the stairs. Looking up, the brunette watched as Florian began to walk down the stairs, a small smile on his face as he noticed the two of them standing by the bottom step.

"Florian," Agnes smiled as he nodded. "Florian, this is Victor Colleano, he works at the shop with Josie and I," she explained as Victor smiled across at the Belgian, confusion appearing on his face as he took in the other man. Agnes had not told him that there was a man in the house, she had mentioned introducing him to Miss Mardle's Belgian lodger but she had never mentioned that their lodger was a man. "Victor, this is Florian Dupont," she smiled as Florian walked down the rest of the stairs before they both shook hands.

"It is nice to meet you," Florian smiled as Victor nodded in agreement. "Excuse me," he said quietly before moving into the living room, Victor glancing across at Agnes as she continued to smile.

"Your lodger is a man?" Victor asked quickly as Agnes nodded. "Wow," he whispered.

"What?" Agnes smiled as he shrugged.

"A man living in a house with Miss Mardle, it's just unexpected," he commented as Agnes laughed gently at the sound of surprise in his voice before nodding slowly. "I never imagined that your lodger would be a man. When you told me that Miss Mardle had written to the charity, I never expected they would send a man to live with you."

"Neither did we before he arrived," Agnes admitted. "Especially Josie, you should have seen the look on her face when she walked into the dining room with him. But the war changes people and we couldn't just send him away," she explained before Victor laughed gently, trying to imagine the shocked look on the older woman's face as she invited a strange man to live in her home. "It is nice to be helping the war in our own way though. We may not be able to fight but we can at least provide a home to someone in need," Agnes commented as Victor nodded, following her into the living room to find Florian sat in silence while playing with the strings on his violin.

"You are a musician?" Victor asked as Florian nodded.

"Your observational skills are just exceptional Mr Colleano," Josie teased as she stepped into the room, Victor beginning to blush as Agnes smiled across at the other woman.

"Good evening Miss Mardle," Victor greeted as he looked up at the older woman.

"Josie please, we are no longer at work," she smiled as Victor nodded slowly, shocked to be allowed to call her by her first name. "Dinner is just being served," she admitted, Florian standing as she nodded. Watching as Florian and Josie disappeared out of the room, Victor continued to remain silent before leaning towards Agnes.

"Did she just smile?" Victor asked as Agnes glared across at him. "Did Miss Mardle just smile at me?" he questioned while Agnes rolled her eyes at him. "She never smiles, she usually glares at me," he continued as they began to walk towards the dining room while Agnes shook her head in silence.

"She does smile Victor. She actually smiles quite a lot, she is not as scary as she seems at work," Agnes commented before they entered the room to see Florian and Josie already seated around the table. Sitting down, Agnes smiled across at the musician before looking at Victor, unable to stop herself from beaming at the memory of his shock at Josie smiling. "I had an amusing conversation with Mr Thackeray today," Agnes commented when the room fell silent, everyone looking up at her as she shrugged.

"Oh what did he want to moan about now?" Josie groaned as Victor laughed at her obvious frustration with the other man.

"He is now determined that Mr Leclair is a spy. He is determined that Henri is up to something," Agnes admitted as Josie sighed while Victor shook his head.

"Where he gets these ideas from, I don't know," Josie responded as Florian looked at them in confusion. "Mr Thackeray is the head of fashion at Selfridges," she explained as Florian nodded slowly. "And he is one of the most annoying men I have ever met," she added as both Agnes and Victor nodded in agreement.

"I know that he and Mr Leclair had another disagreement today," Agnes commented.

"Who is Mr Leclair?" Florian asked quickly.

"He works with me, he is another designer," Agnes responded as Florian nodded slowly.

"They are a wonderful team," Josie commented as Agnes began to blush in silence. "The designs that they create for the windows are spectacular," she admitted quickly. "Agnes has always been surprising us with her artistic talent."

"I learnt from one of the best and I would never have improved if it hadn't been for Mr Selfridge getting me removed from my job," Agnes shrugged as Florian stared at her in confusion. "It's a long story but Mr Selfridge visited the shop I was working in, completely disrupted how our glove department was organised and got me removed," she explained as Florian nodded.

"So you got a job at Selfridges?" Florian asked as Agnes nodded.

"Not like everyone else though," Josie commented as Agnes laughed.

"I went to his house and asked for a job," Agnes admitted as shock covered both men's faces.

"You never told me that," Victor commented as Agnes nodded. "Agnes Towler, you are full of surprises," Victor said in amazement as the brunette shrugged in response while Josie continued to shake her head at them. "I can't believe you went to his house and asked for a job."

"I needed a job and he was opening this new shop that everyone desperately wanted to work at, I thought he owed me for getting me removed from my glove job," Agnes declared while Josie shook her head at the younger woman. "I don't know what I would be doing right now if it hadn't been for Mr Selfridge, he turned my life around."

"He turned a lot of lives around," Josie admitted as Victor nodded in agreement.

"He sounds like a wonderful employer," Florian commented as all three nodded.

"I can't imagine working for anyone else," Agnes stated, knowing that the two other Selfridge employees would agree with her.

XOXOXOXOXOX

Moving towards Florian as he began to put his violin away, Josie smiled as she heard the front door shut behind Agnes and Victor before she stopped near him.

"You keep a happy house here," Florian commented as he looked across at her, Josie smiling proudly as she nodded slowly.

"Well, thank you," Josie quickly responded, feeling her cheeks warm at the compliment. She had never had to keep a house before. It had always been just her in her small. and now that she thought about it lonely, house, with her only visitor being Roger while their relationship had continued. She had never had guests stay before and she most certainly never had colleagues around for dinner. She had never felt comfortable inviting people into her old house and yet now, it seemed to come with the territory of owning a larger property. Looking up at Florian, Josie slowly felt her smile disappear as he continued to watch her.

"No, thank you," Florian smiled, reaching down for her hand as she stared at him in shock. He was holding her hand again and she wasn't fighting him. She was allowing him to grasp it in his. "This evening you made me forget my troubles," he admitted as she bit into her lip nervously. She had done nothing that evening, why did he think she had helped him forget about everything that had happened? However, she was also glad that he had enjoyed himself and was enjoying her company. She wanted him to enjoy her company and that feeling, that desperation terrified her. "A long time since i have known that feeling," Florian continued, falling silent as she quickly glanced down at how he was tightly holding onto her hand. Glancing back up at him, Josie felt his eyes on her as they remained silent before a small smile began to appear on her face. He felt happy, he was enjoying himself and he didn't feel troubled at the moment. He was happy in her home. Nodding quickly as she found herself unable to think of anything to say, Josie quickly patted their hands as Florian continued to watch her before she pulled away, immediately regretting the lack of contact.

Why was she thinking like that?

She barely knew the man!

She didn't know the man!

She was not allowed to think like that.

Moving away, Josie quickly moved towards the door, her smile disappearing as she rested her hand on her abdomen. She couldn't keep thinking like this. She didn't know the young man who had just been holding her hand and yet she wanted him to be happy around, she wanted him to enjoy her company. Shutting the living room door behind her, Josie stood perfectly still in the corridor before breathing out.

"What am I doing?" she whispered to herself.

Why was she letting this man affect her? She never behaved like this, she never felt like this around men. Shaking her head, Josie wrapped her arms around her body. It had to be because of Roger. She felt lonely, that had to be it. She just had to ignore whatever feelings were beginning to appear for a while and then they would go away. It was nothing! She just had to ignore whatever feelings were beginning to appear. She barely knew the man anyway, she was being ridiculous.

"Josie?" Agnes' voice interrupted causing Josie to look in her direction. "Is something wrong?" the young woman asked as Josie shook her head and smiled weakly, aware that Agnes didn't look like she believed her.

"I'm just tired, I think I'm going to go to bed," Josie admitted as Agnes nodded again. "Good night Agnes," Josie smiled, moving towards the stairs while Agnes smiled weakly.

"Good night Josie," she said quietly, watching as Josie disappeared upstairs. Entering her bedroom moments later, Josie sighed as she quickly shut the door and moved towards her dressing table before sitting down and breathing out. Leaning up, Josie slowly began to unpin her hair, watching her reflection as her curls were finally freed. Hearing a knock at the door, Josie turned in confusion before standing up. Approaching the door in silence, Josie opened it slightly before smiling weakly at Florian, who was standing silently in the corridor.

"Agnes said you had decided to go to bed, I wanted to say good night," Florian admitted, Josie unable to stop herself from smiling at him as she nodded slowly.

"Good night Florian," Josie responded quickly as he smiled at her.

"I really did have a lovely evening Josie, thank you," he continued as she nodded again, unable to stop her smile growing as she opened the door more so she was facing him properly.

"So did I Florian," Josie admitted quietly, still watching him as he stood nervously in the corridor. "You are a truly talented musician, I loved hearing you play tonight."

"Thank you Josie," he responded before glancing across at his bedroom door, aware that he had only come to say goodnight and he was probably disturbing her. "I will let you go to sleep, goodnight," he explained, moving away as Josie bit into her lip for a moment.

"Florian," Josie called out, stopping him as he turned to look at her again in silence. "It is nice having you here," she admitted, smiles appearing on both their faces as they watched each other for a moment in complete silence. "Well, goodnight Florian," Josie said quietly, the musician nodding as she moved further into her room before shutting the door and turning to look into her room.

What was she doing?

**I'm not a big fan of this chapter, I think it's very dull but I didn't know what else to write for this scene. However, hopefully you enjoy it. The next couple of chapters should be fun to write because it's developing their relationship and the concert at Selfridges- meaning Mr Grove and Florian meet!**

**Anyway, please review. It means the world to me, I have a massive smile on my face whenever I read your thoughts on my chapters. **


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm so glad that you're enjoying this story so far and the positive response has truly been fantastic so I hope you continue to enjoy this as it continues. You really are truly wonderful and this gives me something to do to destress from revision and orthodontic treatment, so thank you for taking the time to read and hopefully review.**

**It's a bit of an odd chapter but hopefully you like it.**

"Florian," Josie called out as she sat down on the bed beside him, her hands immediately pinning his shoulders down into the mattress as he continued to groan in his sleep. It was like he was in physical agony and she hated it, she hated seeing him like that. She hated the pain he was in, she hated how the nightmares haunted him and how she was failing to make anything better. He had been living with her for a week and she had thought it was getting better but now she knew that it wasn't, that he was still being haunted in his sleep. "Florian wake up," she begged, her hand resting against his cheek as he continued to groan in his sleep, clearly distressed. "You need to wake up now Florian, wake up for me," she stated, her hands shaking him slightly as he slowly began to open his eyes, clearly panicked as she brushed her fingers across his cheek. "Florian, it's Josie, you're safe," Josie whispered, leaning over him as he continued to stare up at her in silence before breathing out slowly. "You're safe Florian, you're in London, you're far away from it all," she explained before moving away from him while he slowly sat up, running his fingers through his hair. Why did this keep happening to him? Why couldn't he be normal? Why couldn't he just sleep like a normal person? "Was it the same dream as usual?" Josie questioned as she continued to sit beside him.

"Yes," Florian whispered, his voice almost silent as she continued to watch him, her hand moving to his shoulder before she squeezed it gently. "Did I wake you?" he asked, Josie aware that his groaning had disturbed her this time.

"No," she lied, forcing a small smile onto her face as he watched her. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked quietly, his head shaking as he moved to rest against the pillows again. "Look I'm awake and you're awake now," she began before glancing across at the clock that rested on the bedside table. "There is only a couple of hours before we have to wake up for breakfast, so why don't we get dressed and go for a walk?" Josie suggested, aware that Florian needed to clear his head and get out of his bed for a while. He was upset, he was distressed and he needed to do something rather than just lying in bed unable to get the memories out of his head. "It's just an idea," she muttered as he smiled weakly and nodded slowly.

"I'd like that," Florian admitted as Josie moved silently off the bed before wrapping her arms around her body, tightening her dressing gown around her figure. "Are you sure Josie? You could go back to bed," he smiled as she shook her head, watching him as he continued to sit in bed.

"I won't sleep and neither will you, we both know that," Josie said quietly. "I will meet you downstairs in ten minutes, dress warm," Josie smiled before she stepped out of the room, entering her own bedroom moments later. Shutting the door, Josie breathed out as she glanced across at her own clock. It was four in the morning and she had just asked her lodger to go for a walk with her. Shaking her head, Josie approached her wardrobe before pulling out something reasonably warm to wear for the early hours of the morning. It was true, in a couple of hours she would have been waking up anyway to get ready for work and if she was honest, she was worried about him. His nightmares seemed to be getting worse whenever he had them and she didn't know how to comfort him, to help him sleep properly. Changing quickly, Josie found a scarf before wrapping it tightly around her neck, knowing that she would most likely freeze if they were outside for too long. Moving out of her room, Josie quickly walked down the stairs to see Florian already waiting, his hat and coat already on.

"Are you sure you want to do this Josie? You could have a couple more hours sleep," he commented as she moved past him and pulled her coat on, buttoning it up quickly before reaching for her hat.

"Florian, I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't think it was a good idea," Josie explained as she smiled across at him. "Are you ready to go?" she asked quickly, the musician nodding before she opened the door and stepped outside, the cold immediately hitting her face. It was definitely colder than she had been expected. Moving down the street in silence, Josie quickly glanced across at Florian as he continued to look around him. "I thought we could go to the park," Josie commented as Florian nodded slowly, remaining beside her as she smiled weakly up at him. Leading him into the nearest park to her house, Josie slowly led him towards a nearby bench before sitting down in silence, patting the space beside her. Moving towards her, Florian slowly sat down before he looked around them, taking in the darkness and the silence that surrounded them. "Do you want to talk about it?" Josie asked quietly as she looked across at him, barely able to see him because of the darkness.

"About what?" Florian asked.

"Your dream," Josie responded as she moved closer to him. "Do you want to talk about it?" she questioned, not wanting to push him too much. She wanted him to trust her, to feel like he could talk about what had happened.

"I keep seeing their faces," Florian whispered, his voice full of fear as she glanced up in his direction. "My families faces, I keep seeing their faces. I keep hearing them screaming for help, I keep watching them die," the musician explained quietly as Josie bit into her lip. She had spent years feeling sorry for herself because her relationship had ended and here was a young man who had lost everything and was being haunted by the idea of his family's death. "I can't stop thinking about them."

"Oh Florian," Josie whispered, her hand moving to take hold of his as she moved closer to him on the bench. "I wish I could make them go away," the brunette admitted, her hand squeezing his tightly as he glanced down at her. "I wish I could make it better, I wish there was something I could do," she said quietly, not knowing what else to do. She didn't know how to stop someone from having nightmares about their dead family.

"You do make it better," Florian admitted, surprise covering her face as she watched him in silence. "You have given me somewhere to live, you and Agnes have become my friends, you distract me everyday so I don't think about what happened. You sit with me every night I have a nightmare and you are even with me now when you should be asleep," he explained as she smiled weakly, not knowing what else to say to him. "You are the kindest person I have ever met Josie, everything you do just proves that," he said honestly, the brunette smiling as she squeezed his hand again.

"I'm sure the nightmares will get better soon," Josie whispered as he nodded slowly. "One day, you will remember only the good things. It is just because it is still fresh in your mind, one day they will stop Florian. I know they will," Josie promised as he remained silent, still holding tightly onto her hand as she tried to smile.

"One day seems a very long way away though," Florian admitted quietly, his voice almost silent as Josie remained close to him, wishing that she could tell him an exact date when it would all be over.

"You are happy here though, aren't you Florian?" Josie questioned, wondering whether he wasn't completely happy in London and that was affected his nightmares.

"Of course I'm happy here Josie," Florian immediately responded, tightening his hold of her hand as she smiled up at him. "I have been so happy here and I have only lived with you for a week," he explained as she bit into her lip, not knowing how to respond. "Please don't think that I am unhappy because I am having these nightmares," he whispered as she nodded, unable to stop herself from smiling at him. "What about you?" he asked quietly as confusion appeared on her face.

"What about me?" Josie questioned.

"Are you sleeping better now? You said the first time that you were having problems sleeping," he explained as Josie bit into her lip.

"Yes, slightly better," Josie smiled weakly. Even during her relationship with Roger she had had problems sleeping alone and after their relationship had ended, she had been forced to be alone for five years. She knew that she still wasn't sleeping brilliantly but it was improving. She also knew that she couldn't tell Florian why she had difficulty sleeping because it would mean having to explain to him about her previous relationship. "I am starting to sleep better."

"Do you have nightmares?" Florian questioned as Josie shook her head.

"No, I just find it difficult to actually get to sleep sometimes," Josie admitted as Florian immediately began to feel guilty for her being with him right now when she should be trying to sleep.

"Maybe we should go back to the house, you could try and get some more sleep," he suggested, moving to stand but stopping when Josie took hold of his arm.

"Florian, I suggested this. I wanted to be here. You didn't force me out of bed, you didn't bring me here against my will, you didn't even suggest going for a walk. I want to be here, in this park, with you," she explained, trying to sound strong as Florian nodded, moving to sit down beside her again. "I would rather sit here with you, doing something with my time rather than sitting in bed, trying to sleep but knowing that it would be impossible."

"You are a wonderful person Josie," Florian said quietly as she smiled.

"Would you like to carry on walking for a bit longer Florian? We'll freeze if we sit here any longer," she suggested as Florian nodded silently, both of them moving to stand up before walking further through the park together in comfortable silence.

XOXOXOXOXO

"This reminds me of home," Florian admitted as Josie looked up at him, smiling as they walked through one of the various markets that was finishing getting prepared for the day ahead. They had been walking for hours, although it hadn't felt like it and now people were starting to appear in the streets, getting ready for work. "There were markets everywhere, people everywhere," Florian said quietly as Josie nodded slowly, listening silently. He rarely went into detail about what his home had been like and she was interested, she wanted to know more. She wanted to understand him. "I had lived there all my life, I never imagined living anywhere else."

"So this is the first time you have lived anywhere else?" Josie asked quietly as he nodded.

"I travelled around Europe with the orchestra but this is the only other place I have called home," he explained as they moved through the crowds that were starting to form, the musician taking in the various market stalls as Josie continued to smile. "We never even moved house, we all had lived there. My parents moved there when they married and we all lived there," he smiled as Josie nodded slowly. "I was going to find my own house this year," Florian said quietly before Josie bit into her lip. "I keep thinking about what it must look like now. What the streets must look like now, how destroyed our local church is," he whispered as Josie bit into her lip.

"When the war is over, you could always go back to your village," Josie said quietly, amazed by the sudden feeling of dread that suddenly filled her. She suddenly didn't want him to leave her, didn't want him to go back to Belgium.

"I don't know if I ever want to go back," Florian admitted, both of them stopping in the middle of the street.

"You don't?" Josie questioned, staring up at him as he shook his head slowly.

"I don't know. I don't know if I could ever face going back and seeing my home completely destroyed. Everyone I knew lived there, I don't even know how many survived," Florian said quietly as Josie nodded, shocked when she slowly took hold of his hand in the busy street before squeezing it tightly.

"But you did," Josie whispered. "You survived Florian, your family will still live on through you," she declared, knowing that it wouldn't be the most comforting thought. "You need to live for them, you need to live your life and take every single opportunity that is thrown your way because that is what your family would have wanted," Josie smiled as he stared at her. "And one day, you might want to go back to Belgium."

"One day, maybe," Florian whispered.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

Staring at him as he continued to play, Josie smiled weakly as Florian shut his eyes, clearly well associated with the piece he was currently performing. As the song began to end, Josie felt her smile grow before she applauded when Florian moved the violin away. He really was the most talented violinist.

"That was really beautiful," Josie admitted as Florian smiled weakly, placing the violin into its case before he moved to sit beside her. "I've never heard that piece of music before," the brunette commented as Florian nodded slowly, clearly not surprised.

"My father wrote it actually," Florian said quietly as shock covered Josie's face. His father had composed such a beautiful piece of music?

"Then he was a truly talented musician," Josie responded before they fell silent, Florian's eyes shutting for a moment before he shook his head and stood up, quickly moving towards the door. "Florian," Josie called out, surprised when the musician quickly walked out of the door before she heard his footsteps almost running up the stairs. Standing, Josie quickly moved towards the door to see Agnes standing in the corridor in confusion.

"What happened?" Agnes asked as Josie shook her head.

"I don't know," Josie responded, smiling across at Agnes who was clearly preparing to go out. "I'll sort it out, have a good afternoon Agnes," Josie quickly said, forcing a smile onto her face as Agnes nodded and moved towards the front door while Josie glanced up at the stairs. Slowly moving up the stairs when she heard the front door open and close, Josie breathed out as she approached his bedroom door. "Florian," Josie said quietly, knocking against the door before she slowly opened the door to see him standing by the window in silence. "Florian," Josie muttered, moving towards him as he remained completely silent, almost like he was unaware of her presence. "Florian, talk to me," Josie begged, standing beside him as she moved her hand to rest on his shoulder, surprised when he jumped at her touch. "What's wrong?"

"I shouldn't feel like this," Florian whispered as confusion covered Josie's face. Feel like what? "My family are dead, my friends are dead and I am here enjoying myself. I'm here being happy," the musician suddenly snapped, his arms moving around his body as Josie stared at him in silence. Why was he doing this to himself?

"Florian," Josie whispered.

"Everyone I know is dead, I should be dead too like my family," Florian muttered, Josie's head shaking as she moved closer to him and rested her hands on his arms, not knowing what else to do. She hated this. She hated seeing the agony on his face and now the guilt he was feeling for being alive. Reaching out for him, Josie quickly took hold of his hands as he stared down at her, a sad smile appearing on her face as she shook her head.

"Don't ever say that," Josie whispered. "Don't you ever say that you should be dead," she begged as he watched her. "You are alive, your family would want you to be happy. You shouldn't feel guilty about being happy here," Josie stated as she tightened her hold of his hands. "You're allowed to be happy, you haven't forgotten them Florian. The fact that I have to wake you up every night is just one example of how you haven't forgotten them," Josie declared before squeezing his hands. "We spent all of this morning walking around London, talking about them. You haven't forgotten about them and they would want you to be happy," Josie insisted as he remained silent, tears appearing in his eyes as she bit into her lip. "Don't shut me out, please don't shut me out like that."

"Josie," Florian whispered as she tightened her hold of his hands while they stood in his room. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise," Josie responded quietly. "Just remember that I am your friend. I am not going to judge you if you are sad or angry or grieving Florian," Josie promised before breathing out. "I care about you Florian, don't feel like you need to hide how you're feeling from me," she finally said before smiling weakly up at him as he slowly began to lace his fingers with hers.

"I shouldn't be this happy," Florian whispered, his guilt obvious as Josie shut her eyes. "I shouldn't be allowed to be this happy."

**I don't know how this ended up being such a depressing chapter but yeah, I thought I'd add some drama to develop their relationship. Also, I think Florian would have some issues when he moved to London because he has lost everything but what do you think? We will return to the happiness, I promise but I need a bit of drama in my life.**

**Please review, they do mean the world to me.**

******Also, I probably won't be able to update again for a couple of days because I do need to focus on exams- unless of course there's a really amazing response and I feel guilty for not reviewing- something that will probably happen as I feel bad if I leave updating for a while.**  



	4. Chapter 4

**This is a shorter chapter than normal but I was kind of having writers block but I wanted to write something that showed some kind of development before we start moving towards the next episode so here's a chapter. I'm going to pre-warn this is a very random chapter, I have no idea why I decided to write it but I did and by the end I thought it was quite sweet but it's up to you, let me know your opinions.**

**Thank you so much for your amazing response to the last chapter, I am so glad that you are enjoying it and I will try and make it unbelievably happy until Josie does that silly thing of pushing the lovely Florian away.**

**Anyway, please review because it means the world to me and also good luck to any readers who are sitting exams at the moment.**

"Where is everyone?" Florian asked as he entered the kitchen to find only Josie standing there. He had never seen her house this empty. There was no Agnes and none of the staff who usually occupied Josie's kitchen were to be seen or heard around the house and that was extremely unusual, especially at that time of evening. Turning to face the musician, Josie smiled as she stood by the kitchen side, taking in how exhausted he looked. For the last few days Florian had been withdrawn, barely talking to anyone and she was determined to stop it. She wanted to hear him laugh and see him smile and enjoy playing the violin again but all he wanted to do was sit and think, dwelling on what he had lost for the first time since he had arrived. She knew he needed to grief, she would think there was something wrong with him he wasn't but she didn't want him to be miserable and alone all the time. She also missed him. She missed talking to him and the company he had provided, even though she couldn't explain it.

"Agnes is spending the evening with some people from work," Josie explained as Florian nodded slowly, still confused on why there were no staff in the house. "And I sent everyone else home early Florian," Josie admitted, confusion appearing on his face as she laughed gently, taking in his surprise and confusion. "Now Florian, you are helping me to cook our dinner," Josie declared, shock replacing the confusion as she continued to laugh, watching every emotion that decorated his face.

"Can you cook?" Florian questioned, laughing when Josie threw a tea towel at him.

"Of course I can cook, I haven't always had people to cook for me Florian," Josie admitted as his eyebrows rose. He hadn't known that. If he was honest, he didn't know much about Josie's past as they usually discussed him. "Will you do the potatoes for me?" Josie questioned, smiling across at him as he laughed and nodded, moving towards the potatoes that were resting on the side while Josie watched him. Moving to cut up other vegetables, Josie smiled to herself when Florian began to hum from where he was stood beside her.

"Are you going to tell me more Josie?" Florian finally asked as the brunette looked across at him before returning her focus to the vegetables she was working on.

"This was my brother's house before he died," Josie said quietly, remembering how shocked she had been when he had left her the house and money. "He left it to me when he died earlier this year, that's when I first had staff," Josie explained as he nodded. "Before I moved here, I lived in this tiny house, which I had lived in for years. I used to cook for myself every single day, it still confuses me actually, having someone else to do that for me," she admitted as Florian nodded, looking at her briefly to take in the small smile that was currently decorating her face. "For a long time my job was the only thing that supported me and sometimes it barely covered my rent and food."

"Well if anyone deserved this, it would be you," Florian responded as Josie laughed.

"You're not the first person to say that," Josie admitted, remembering Roger's comment when she had shown him the house. "The first few weeks of living here I felt so lonely," she said quietly, remembering how empty it had been with only her occupying it full time. "That's why I asked Agnes to live with me while her brother was away and then when I heard that people needed lodgings, I realised I could help."

"Well I'm glad you did Josie, I can't imagine living anywhere else," Florian smiled, cutting up the potatoes before looking at her. "Potatoes are done," he said quickly as she laughed and nodded, moving towards him before she collected the vegetables and put them in a pot, turning to face him when she had finished. "What exactly are we cooking?" he questioned as she continued to watch him, taking in the smile that was decorating his face and how he relaxed he seemed to be now. This was the Florian that she had missed recently.

"I have no idea," Josie admitted, laughing along with him as he shook his head. "We're having something with vegetables."

XOXOXOXO

"I had my doubts, especially when you had no idea what you were cooking, but this was really nice," Florian smiled as they moved into the living room while Josie shook her head at him, slowly sitting down moments later as Florian continued to smile.

"Even after I burnt it?" Josie questioned as Florian shrugged, both of them laughing gently.

"Even after you slightly burnt it," he stated, taking in the large grin that decorated her face as she shook her head. She still couldn't believe she had managed to burn something so simple. "Another glass of wine?" Florian asked, observing that Josie's glass was empty as the brunette looked at the glass that rested on a nearby table before nodding, watching as he poured the red liquid into it before placing the bottle back on the nearest surface to him. She knew that she probably shouldn't be drinking half of the bottle of wine but she was enjoying having a relaxed and less formal evening with him. They hadn't been forced by a scheduled dinner, they had laughed and talked about her life before moving into her brother's house.

"I feel like we should be celebrating something now," Josie admitted as she took hold of the glass. "We don't normally drink wine," she added as Florian nodded slowly, looking down at the crimson drink before smiling to himself. They didn't normally drink wine in the evening, especially not as quickly as they had that evening.

"We should celebrate you," Florian responded as shock covered her face.

"Me?" Josie asked as he nodded. "Why me?"

"There have been moments Josie when I have felt completely alone and like I have nothing to live for and then you do something like this," he declared as she listened to him, taking in everything he was saying. "You organise an evening like this, you buy me a violin, you sit with me after a nightmare and discuss whatever I want, you open your house to a complete stranger because you have the space," he listed as she bit into her lip. "To you Josie," Florian smiled as he held his glass out, Josie's head shaking as she bit into her lip.

"I have a better one," Josie said quietly before she moved her glass back to the table. "To new friends," she smiled as he nodded.

"To new friends," Florian repeated before they knocked their glasses gently, laughing at the action before taking a sip of the liquid. "You really are a truly wonderful person," Florian whispered as Josie glanced up at him, blushing at his compliments while she clung onto the glass. "And I have been miserable this week, I've barely talked to you," he added as Josie shook her head.

"You've been grieving for your family," Josie responded. "I don't expect you to be happy all the time Florian, you have lost more than any of us could ever imagine," Josie said quickly as he took a sip of his wine, never looking away from her. "I never expected you to be as positive as you have been," she admitted before she reached across for his hand, the musician smiling down at his hand when she squeezed it gently. "I can't quite remember what my life was like before you and Agnes came to live here," Josie admitted as Florian glanced up at her. "I was always alone, it's nice to have other people in the house. It's nice having you here."

"It's nice being here," Florian responded. "I like living here," he smiled as Josie let go of his hand before standing up, smiling to herself as she felt his eyes still on her. "I think if we had gone somewhere posh this is where we should dance together," Florian commented as Josie turned to face him in shock. "Would you like to?" he asked.

"Like to what?" Josie responded as Florian stood up and moved towards her.

"Dance," he smiled as she stared up at him. "With me?" he asked, taking in how Josie bit into her lip before slowly nodding, unable to find the words to respond. What was she doing? This was ridiculous and inappropriate and she couldn't seem to resist. The whole evening would have been seen by someone as inappropriate. He was her lodger and yet she had cooked with him and had eaten dinner alone with him and drunk nearly a whole bottle of wine. Feeling his hand move to her back, Josie glanced up before she allowed him to take hold of her hand.

"This seems rather silly without music," Josie admitted as Florian laughed.

"I could hum if you like Josie," he suggested, unable to stop himself from laughing as Josie shook her head, slowly following his lead as they began to waltz in her living room. Staring up at him, Josie bit into her lips as he smiled down at her in silence, the brunette taking in how close they were as his hand kept her physically close him. She couldn't remember if she had ever done something like this with Roger. Whether she had allowed him to dance with her in her living room, whether they had done anything like this during their twelve year relationship. Why did she keep comparing her relationship with Roger to her relationship with Florian? They were completely different. Florian was her lodger, her friend. Roger had been her lover, the man she had been in love with for over twelve years, the man who had practically abandoned her. "Josie," Florian's voice suddenly interrupted, snapping her out of her thoughts as she glanced up at him.

"Sorry," Josie whispered as he shook his head at her, not understanding why she was apologising to him. She hadn't done anything wrong.

"Can I ask you something personal?" Florian asked as Josie paled, staring up at him as their dancing began to slow down, neither of them paying much attention as they began to stand closer to each other and barely move anywhere, instead swaying closer than both knew would be viewed as appropriate. Nodding slowly, Josie watched as Florian continued to look down at her in silence for a few moments. "Why haven't you married?" he asked quietly. She hadn't expected that to be his question.

"I never found someone I could happily spend the rest of my life with," Josie responded, aware that that was practically a lie. She had been certain that Roger would be the man she'd eventually marry. However, she wasn't going to tell Florian about her previous relationship. She didn't want many people knowing about what Roger had done. She had felt humiliated and that was without many people knowing the extent of their affair. "And I love my job. In the end, I am quite happy to continue working as I doubt I'll ever get married now," Josie added, taking in what was going to be her future. Of course no one would marry her. She wasn't ever going to give someone a family and that seemed to be what everyone wanted. A wife who could produce three or four healthy children, like Mrs Grove.

"I've upset you," Florian commented as Josie immediately shook her head.

"No, no you haven't upset me Florian," Josie quickly responded as he nodded, clearly worried that he had. Falling silent again, Josie sighed as they continued to dance together slowly in the middle of the room, both of them aware that what they were currently doing didn't constitute as any type of formal dance and that if anyone walked in it would be viewed as completely inappropriate behaviour for a woman and her lodger to be doing. "We shouldn't be doing this Florian," Josie whispered as Florian looked down at her again to see the worry that was painted on her face. "It's not right."

"It's just a dance Josie, it's not hurting anyone," Florian whispered in response as Josie bit into her lip for a moment before nodding. It was just a dance.

**It's so random and not my favourite chapter but it's here, it fills up a gap.**

**I think Josie seems rather out of character in the final part of the chapter but, yeah, they've got to develop at some point and it's hard trying to stick things into the story line which fit with how their relationship grows.**

**Anyway, please review. It does mean the world to me.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for your wonderful reviews, your response has really been amazing and I do hope you continue to enjoy the story as it progresses.**

**A shorter chapter than usual, and again I don't like it that much but I'm never happy. The next chapter should be longer as it will be back to what happened in the episode and filling in the plot there which will be nice.**

**Please let me know what you think, your reviews really do make me smile and I have no more exams so I can update more frequently.**

"Come in," Josie called out as she glanced back towards the knocking at her door before turning to face her reflection in the mirror again, finishing pinning her hair back as the door began to creak open. Hearing footsteps approach her moments later, Josie smiled at Florian's reflection in the mirror while he remained silent and leant down to rest a cup of tea on her dressing table. "Thank you," Josie said quickly, finishing her hair before she turned on her seat to face him while he silently moved to sit on the edge of her bed while her smile continued to grow. She had woken up only an hour earlier feeling happier than she had done in years. She had had a wonderful evening with the musician, who was currently smiling at her, and she couldn't get over how perfect her evening had been. She had just planned a dinner and time alone to talk, to deal with the issues that had been upsetting her. She hadn't expected to end up sharing two bottles of wine with him and dancing for what had felt like hours in her living room with the young musician, both of them in complete silence. It had been the sound of Agnes arriving home that had eventually pulled them away from each other and they hadn't said a word to each other since she had excused herself and gone to bed before Agnes had entered the living room.

"You missed breakfast, I was worried," Florian commented as Josie smiled at him, taking in the concern that appeared on his face as she slowly nodded.

"I overslept, the two bottles of wine last night probably had something to do with that," Josie admitted as Florian laughed gently at her comment, watching her as she reached across for her pearl earrings and began to put them in. "Has Agnes already gone to work then?" Josie questioned as the musician nodded again.

"A couple of minutes ago, she was going to meet Victor before work," Florian explained as Josie nodded, taking hold of the cup of tea before she moved to sit beside him. "I had a nice evening last night," Florian admitted after a few moment's silence, Josie blushing as she nodded slowly in agreement.

"So did I," Josie said quietly before taking a sip of the perfectly made tea that Florian had brought her. "You've learnt to make a wonderful cup of tea," Josie commented as Florian continued to watch her, clearly wanting to say something.

"Josie last night was more than nice! It was one of the greatest evenings of my life," he blurted out before falling silent as Josie bit into her lip before nodding again, not trusting herself anymore to say anything. "I've never had an evening like that," he said quietly as she rested her cup of tea down on her bedside table before slowly taking hold of his hand tightly in hers. She knew that if anyone ever observed the way she and Florian behaved around each other they would disapprove of their behaviour but she didn't care anymore, any boundaries they should have had had disappeared long ago. "It was nice, to spend time with you Josie," he said quietly as he squeezed her hand, Josie smiling down at him before she nodded.

"Yes, it was," Josie responded, almost silently, before glancing across at the clock and groaning. "I've got to leave, I have work," she said quickly, both of them aware of the sound of misery in her voice at the idea of leaving for the shop.

"Maybe I could walk with you?" Florian suggested as Josie glanced up at him in shock. Had he just asked her if he could walk her to work? Breathing out, Florian slowly stood up before looking at Josie while she continued to sit in silence. "Would you allow me to walk you to work Josie?" he asked as Josie's smile began to grow, the brunette laughing gently as she took hold of his hand and nodded tightly before standing up and staring at him.

"I would like that," Josie admitted before glancing across at the door, aware that she needed to leave now. "I'd really like that Florian," Josie whispered before she stepped away from him and moved towards her bedroom door, aware that the musician was following her in silence. Quickly walking down the stairs, Josie quickly pulled her coat and hat on before turning to see Florian reaching for his own coat. "Are you sure you want to walk with me?" she questioned as he nodded, buttoning up his coat while she continued to watch him. Was she really allowing him to walk with her? If anyone from the shop saw them, questions would be immediately be asked about who the young man was and then she would have to explain to everyone that she had a young and attractive musician living with her rather than the woman they all expected?

Had she seriously just thought about Florian Dupont, her lodger, as attractive?

Well he was definitely attractive, she was extremely aware of how attractive he was, she wasn't blind, but she had never thought about him in her head as attractive before. She had never been concerned about what people would think because she had a young AND attractive man living with her but instead had been worried about what people would think because there was a man living there in general.

"Josie?" Florian asked, taking in how silent she was as she snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of his voice. "Are you ready to leave Josie?" he questioned as the brunette nodded, leaving her house in silence while Florian followed, watching her with a small smile on his face. He adored spending time with her and had surprised himself by asking whether he could walk with her to work. He wanted to spend more time with her, he didn't completely understand why he wanted to be with her all the time but he wanted to have those moments alone with her even when she had to go to work and he wasn't going to let any opportunity go by that allowed him to spend more time with her.

"I didn't say this last night but you are a very good dancer Florian," Josie said quietly after a moment's silence, a large smile appearing on his face as she glanced up at him.

"It wasn't really difficult," Florian responded as Josie laughed gently. "But you're a pretty wonderful dancer too Josie," he added, her smile continuing to grow as they moved through the crowds of people who already filled Oxford Street. "So this is the street where you work?" he asked as Josie nodded.

"Yes," Josie smiled. "Look for the street with the large crowds and the big shop and that's Oxford Street," Josie laughed as Florian smiled at her, looking around at the various shops they passed as they progressed through the busy street. "Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?" Josie questioned as Selfridges began to appear in the distance, the brunette suddenly hating the idea of disappearing into the shop for a days work and leaving the musician.

"I thought I'd just walk. It's a beautiful day and I don't want to miss the sun, it hardly ever seems sunny here," Florian explained as Josie nodded, stopping when they reached the shop before glancing up at him. "You have to go to work," he said quietly, glancing across at the doorway that was in the distance and currently being used as Josie bit into her lip.

"I have to go to work," Josie repeated before forcing a smile onto her face, preparing to leave him and go into the store as his fingers gently brushed against hers. Glancing down at their hands, Josie bit into her lip for a moment before glancing up at him. "Florian," Josie whispered, preparing to tell him that he couldn't do that in public, it wasn't proper.

"Josie, Florian," a familiar voice called out, forcing the brunette to turn behind her as she moved away from the musician to see Agnes and Victor approaching them. "Hello Florian, what are you doing here?" Agnes asked as Victor and Florian shook hands while Josie remained silent.

"I thought I'd go for a walk and I've never gone this way before so I thought I'd join Josie," Florian quickly responded before falling silent.

"It's good that we found you both actually," Victor stated as confusion appeared on both Florian and Josie's faces at his sudden announcement. "Agnes and I are going to a performance at the music hall tomorrow and we were wondering if the two of you would like to join us," Victor explained as Josie smiled, glancing up to see Florian already looking at her.

"I think that sounds wonderful," Josie responded as Florian began to nod in agreement.

"I would love to join you," Florian said quickly before he noticed more people entering the shop. "I will see you tonight Agnes, Josie," the musician smiled as Josie stared up at him before nodding.

"I'll see you this evening Florian, enjoy your walk," Josie replied quietly.

"Have a good day Florian," Agnes added, both women watching as the musician quickly joined the crowd of people walking down the street, disappearing from sight within moments. "So, how was your evening?" Agnes smiled as they began to walk towards the entrance, Josie glancing up at her in confusion as the younger woman continued to beam while Victor shook his head at her. "You overslept this morning," Agnes commented as Josie laughed, walking through the shop with her colleagues as she began to shake her head at the younger woman.

"I'm allowed to oversleep occasionally, you have been known to do it a couple of times Miss Towler," Josie responded as Victor laughed at her statement.

"Yes but I usually haven't consumed a considerable amount of wine," Agnes teased while Josie laughed at the other woman's comments, unable to remove the smile from her face. She knew that Agnes meant no harm and she wasn't going to let anything ruin how perfect her evening had been. Not even the fact that she had had to force herself out of bed was going to ruin how wonderful the previous night had been.

"I will say this about my evening, Miss Towler, any issues that may have been have been dealt with," Josie stated seriously, aware of the people that were near them and who could possibly hear what they were discussing. She was not going to let people gossip about her private life. She had a private life, her world was no longer focused purely on her career. She had a home, she had friends, she was finally enjoying her life and no one was going to ruin that for her.

"I'm glad to hear it Miss Mardle," Agnes smiled before turning to face Victor briefly before returning her focus to the brunette who was quickly removing her coat and jacket. "I need to go and start on these displays," Agnes sighed as Josie nodded slowly while Victor continued to smile.

"If Mr Thackeray gives you anymore problems," Victor began as Agnes laughed gently.

"I shall tell you Mr Colleano," Agnes immediately responded as the waiter nodded, Josie's head shaking at the interaction between the couple as they walked out onto the floor. "I will see you this evening Miss Mardle," Agnes quickly smiled as Josie nodded, moving towards accessories as Agnes and Victor moved towards the stairs.

"I didn't know that you and Mr Colleano were close," Roger's voice suddenly commented from behind her, Josie's eyes shutting briefly before she forced a smile onto her face and turned to face him.

"Good morning Mr Grove," Josie greeted as the redhead nodded. "Mr Colleano and I have been spending more time together since Miss Towler came to live with me," Josie explained as he nodded again, watching her as she began to organise a set of gloves. "He is actually very pleasant company," Josie added as Roger smiled weakly.

"It is nice to see you enjoying yourself Miss Mardle," Roger admitted as Josie glanced up at him, amazed at his comment before nodding.

"I am enjoying myself. I'm actually going to a performance at the music hall with some friends tomorrow," Josie admitted, aware that she was mainly trying to show him that she had moved on and was enjoying her life, without him being a part of it. "How is Mrs Grove and the children?" Josie asked as Roger sighed, clearly exhausted as Josie smiled weakly.

"They are all well thank you," Roger admitted as Josie nodded. "Have a good day Miss Mardle," Roger quickly stated before excusing himself and disappearing towards the lift while the brunette breathed out, finally able to relax.

**Review please? It does mean the world to me.**

**Also, who else has seen the pictures of Amanda in costume for series three? She looks so gorgeous, it's unreal. **


	6. Chapter 6

**I tried writing the scene in the music hall but I found it really difficult so I've decided to continue from when that scene finished and continue from there. I'm sorry if that is annoying but I couldn't think of what to write and decided that the scene was so perfect anyway, there wasn't much more I could add to it. **

**Once again, thank you for your amazing reviews. They are truly amazing and I love hearing from you all so please do continue. Positive or criticism, I accept it all. **

"That was wonderful," Josie admitted as she stood outside the music hall with Agnes, the two of them waiting for Florian and Victor to reappear. "Thank you for inviting us Agnes, I know Florian had a wonderful time tonight," the brunette explained as Agnes smiled across at her before nodding. Josie had seen Florian smiling and laughing while she was singing along with the rest of the audience. She had heard him hum along when he started to learn how the songs went and she had happily accepted when he had taken hold of her hand for the rest of the performance.

"I'm glad that you both had a good time," Agnes admitted as Josie nodded, unable to remove the smile from her face as she glanced back at the doorway. "I'm going to go back to the restaurant with Victor for a while," Agnes explained as Josie nodded in reply, smiling when she heard Florian's laugh, the two women turning to see Florian and Victor walking out of the building together. "I was starting to think you had both got lost," Agnes laughed as Victor smiled and moved to stand beside her, the brunette smiling up at him as Josie watched them happily.

"Shall we go Agnes?" Victor asked quietly as Agnes nodded slowly, smiling across at Josie and Florian who were standing unbelievably close together, although both seem oblivious to how close they were. "I will see you at work tomorrow then Josie," Victor smiled as the older woman nodded.

"I will see you tomorrow Victor, thank you for a wonderful evening," Josie responded before smiling at Florian, who quickly shook Victor's hand before the two couples moved in different directions. "It was a fantastic performance tonight," Josie commented as she walked down the street with Florian, the musician nodding in agreement as their fingers brushed against each other's. "Did you enjoy yourself tonight Florian?" Josie questioned, glancing up at him as he continued to smile at her.

"Of course I did, it was a wonderful evening," Florian quickly replied. "Tonight was the first time we've actually gone somewhere together Josie," Florian admitted as surprise covered her face before she nodded slowly. They had gone for walks together but they had never gone out somewhere together, she was aware that he barely left the house to visit places. She knew that she should have taken him somewhere seeing how long he had been living with her but she had talked herself out of it. "I also know that you enjoyed yourself tonight," he said quickly, a laugh leaving her lips as she shook her head at him. "You sang along to nearly every song," Florian commented as Josie began to blush, not surprised that he'd noticed. "You have a lovely voice Josie," he admitted, his voice almost silent as his fingers slowly wrapped around hers, her smile continuing to grow as she slowly looked down at their hands. She knew she shouldn't be letting him do that, especially in public, but she couldn't stop herself from letting him touch her hand. She enjoyed the feeling of his hand holding hers, squeezing it tightly. It had been a long time since anyone had ever done that to her, she missed the touch. "Thank you, for tonight."

"It wasn't my idea," Josie laughed gently as she looked up at him, a small smile decorating her face as he continued to watch her in amazement. "But I'm glad they invited us Florian, I had a great time tonight," she added as Florian nodded in agreement, still holding onto her hand as they stood in the middle of the street in complete silence. "We could go somewhere this weekend, anywhere you want," Josie smiled as surprise appeared on his face. "I could take you," Josie said quietly before falling silent for a moment. "Unless you want to go alone, then I can give you some suggestions."

"No, I would like it if you came with me," Florian admitted as she nodded, the two of them beginning to walk down the street as their smiles grew, neither of them saying anything as they approached the house. Moving towards the front door, Josie slowly let go of his hand, immediately missing the feeling before she opened the front door and stepped into the house, her hands going to her coat in order to remove it while Florian followed her inside and shut the door, removing his own jacket as silence filled the corridor.

"Have you any plans for this evening?" Josie asked quietly, glancing across at him as he shook his head. "Would you play for me?" Josie questioned, the musician nodding before he moved towards the living room, moving passed the brunette before his hand took hold of hers. Smiling down at their hands, Josie bit into her lip as she allowed the musician to lead her into the living room. She loved that he felt comfortable in her home, that he held her hand and wanted to spend time with her. She was also aware that part of her loved the feeling of his hand holding hers and being alone with him, even though she was desperately trying to ignore those feelings. She was close to him, she was aware that out of everyone Florian knew she was the person he was closest too but their relationship was one of close friendship, no matter what anyone might believe. Yes, she allowed him to hold her hand, allowed him to be alone with her and she had spent many nights in his bedroom trying to comfort him but there was nothing more to them than friendship. Sitting down in her usual chair, Josie smiled as Florian moved towards the violin that was resting on the table before starting to play, Josie's grin continuing to grow while she began to relax. She adored hearing him play. It was always relaxing and a perfect way to end the day, watching him perform and seeing the passion that decorated his face as he practiced in front of her.

"Josie," Florian's voice interrupted, snapping her out of her thoughts as she glanced up at him to see that he was watching her nervously. "You were far away just then," he commented as she laughed gently before nodding, her smile continuing to grow as he put the violin into its case before moving to sit beside her. "Want to talk about it?" Florian asked quietly, her head shaking as she continued to smile at him.

"There's nothing to talk about, I was just thinking," Josie quickly responded as Florian nodded slowly, understanding that she didn't want to discuss what she was thinking about. "You truly are a wonderful musician Florian," Josie smiled, reaching across for his hand as he beamed at her, his fingers lacing with hers as they glanced down at their fingers. "Are you still looking at orchestras?" Josie questioned as he nodded slowly. "No luck?" she added quietly, the musician shaking his head as she bit into her lip before gently brushing her free hand against his cheek, gaining his attention. "We'll find somewhere, they would be silly not to accept you," Josie responded as he remained completely silent in front of her, still smiling as she moved her hand from his cheek, suddenly aware of how close they were even though they were in two completely separate seats.

"You are the kindest person," Florian commented as she began to blush gently.

"I'm not Florian," Josie said quietly as he shook his head, disagreeing completely. He couldn't think of anyone kinder than her. She had taken him into her home, made him feel safe, given him a future and was going to help him find an orchestra. He couldn't even begin to imagine where he would be right now if she had not let him into her life.

"You have given me a home Josie, a future. Weeks ago I had nothing, now…" he began before falling silent while she bit into her lip, watching him in amazement. "Now I have a home, friends, a future," he stated as she smiled weakly before nodding slowly, unable to take her eyes off of him. "Never doubt how kind you are Josie."

XOXOXOXOXO

Straightening the scarf as she continued to hum to herself, Josie felt her smile growing as she continued to think to herself. She was aware that Kitty had pulled a face when she had walked away to continue with her work but she didn't care. Kitty Hawkins could judge her and comment upon the fact that she had gone out with a gentleman the previous evening but she was not going to let gossip upset her. She was enjoying her life again. She had friends, she had a reason to go out and live her life again. She was no longer sitting in an empty house, feeling alone and like she didn't have anyone else to talk too. Hearing Mr Grove discussing his wife and children, Josie quickly glanced up before smiling at the two men.

"Mr Crabb, Mr Grove, good morning," Josie greeted as the two men turned to face her, large smiles covering their faces as they took in how happy she looked.

"Good morning Miss Mardle," Roger quickly replied, unable to stop himself from watching her. She looked happier than she had done in years and whenever she smiled, she seemed younger and even more beautiful.

"Good morning Miss Mardle," Mr Crabb added, watching her in amazement. "I've noticed recently that while we're all getting older, you seem to be getting younger," the older man complimented as Josie blushed at the comment, unable to remove the smile from her face. She wasn't used to the compliments she had been receiving recently from everyone but it was nice that people noticed that she had new earrings or anything else.

"Are you wearing a new scent Miss Mardle?" Roger's voice interrupted as Josie glanced up at him, not surprised that he had noticed. She had never bought herself a new scent. She had always used the same, familiar scent. It had felt safe and she had never felt the need to change it. It had been a couple of days ago that she had decided to try a new one. She had the money now and Mr Selfridge had told her to enjoy her wealth, which she had decided to do through treating herself and trying new things. She was also fed up of staying with what was familiar and she had wanted to try something new, something different that people wouldn't expect.

"Yes, I thought I might spoil myself," Josie responded, smiling across at the redhead who nodded slowly. Turning her focus to Mr Crabb as she felt Mr Grove's eyes on her, Josie quickly realised that this was the perfect opportunity to ask. "Are arrangements moving forward for the charity concert Mr Crabb?" the brunette questioned as the older man nodded again.

"Indeed they are. We've found our singer, a tenor called…" Arthur began before falling silent, confusion covering Josie's face as she watched him try to remember the name of the performer. "A contact of Lady Loxley's," he added before blurting out "Richard Chapman."

"Oh," Josie responded, smiling to herself as she realised that he was the man she had seen perform the previous evening. "Well, if he needs accompaniment my Belgian lodger is a marvellous violinist," Josie offered, realising that this was her opportunity to try and get Florian some work. She knew that he missed performing to an audience that included more than just her and she had seen how much he had adored the previous evening. He wanted to perform again and she was going to help him achieve his dream of playing his violin for an audience.

"How she's settling in?" Roger questioned, his voice interrupting her thoughts again as she remained silent for a moment. She had forgotten for a moment that the majority of people believed she had a female lodger living with her, she hadn't corrected anyone or informed them that she actually had a man living with her in her home.

"Quite well, thank you," Josie replied quietly, deciding not to inform Roger yet. It was none of his business who was living with her and she wasn't quite ready to explain to her ex-lover that her lodger was a young, attractive and talented man.

"That's a good idea. Thank you Miss Mardle, please ask her," Arthur responded, providing her with the answer she had desperately wanted to hear as she began to nod happily.

"Indeed," Josie smiled before the two men walked away to continue with their work, the brunette exhaling in relief as she turned to face the scarves again. At least Florian had something to look forward too; although she was dreading the moment she walked into the room with Florian to see Mr Grove and the talk she had to have with him, explaining why her lodger was not the woman he was expecting.

XOOXOXOXOX

"I am so sorry that I'm late," Josie apologised as she entered her dining room to see Florian sat at the table, a small smile covering her face.

"It's fine, were you busy?" Florian questioned as the brunette sat down beside him, breathing out as she began to relax for the first time. It had been a busy day in the shop, preparing for the charity concert that was taking place the following day as well as serving customers and removing all German made products from the store.

"We were very busy yes," Josie responded, smiling when the maid brought over their meals and placed it in front of them. "Thank you," Josie said quietly, her focus returning to Florian within seconds as he continued to watch her. "So Mr Grove has agreed to let you play at the charity concert," Josie stated, unable to remove her smile as she took in both the excitement and amazement that had appeared on Florian's face. "Now there will be suffrage ladies there," Josie warned as confusion replaced the excitement.

"Suffrage ladies?" the musician asked quietly as she nodded slowly.

"Erm," she whispered, trying to think of the best way to describe the women to him. "The bossy ladies," she quickly stated as he nodded, clearly indicating that he understood what she was saying to him. "But one of the things they do is organise theatre events at the military camps. They might be able to get you some work," Josie continued, hoping that he understood why she had asked Mr Grove for the opportunity for him to perform with Richard Chapman. She wanted him to succeed. He was a talented musician and he was passionate about the violin and anyone could see that when he performed. He deserved the chance to work and have the happiness music provided him with.

"You are always thinking about me," Florian whispered, watching her in amazement as she began to blush. Reaching across for his napkin, Josie smiled as she began to unfold it before looking up at him.

"Well it's quite nice to have someone to think about," Josie admitted honestly before resting the napkin on his lap before glancing up at him. She really was concerned at times about what people would think if they saw how she and Florian interacted with each other. She knew that it was not how their relationship was expected to work and people would not understand how close they were but she was glad to have him in her life. Hearing the dining room door open, Josie quickly turned her head as Agnes stepped inside and quickly began to attempt to unbutton her coat.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Agnes apologised.

"We hadn't started eating," Josie stated, noticing how Agnes was struggling to undo the buttons on her coat. "Has something happened?" the brunette questioned as Agnes bit into her lip.

"Well… I shouldn't tell you, I promised I wouldn't, and you mustn't breathe a word," Agnes said nervously as Josie's smile continued to grow.

"Mr Colleano?" the brunette asked happily, feeling like she could probably guess what Agnes was currently keeping secret. She could tell from her smile and the way she was hiding left hand under her right and the small smile that was decorating her face as she continued to stand silently.

"He proposed," Agnes admitted as Josie's smile continued to grow while she stood up. "He gave me this," Agnes quickly stated, holding her hand out to show off the ring to the older woman who beamed down at it. She was so happy for the younger woman. She deserved all the happiness in the world and she was had personally seen how happy Victor made the brunette.

"Oh Agnes congratulations," Josie smiled at the younger woman, continuing to stare at the ring in amazement while Florian beamed at the news from his seat. "It's a beautiful ring," she commented as Agnes nodded slowly, unable to take her eyes off the ring that decorated her finger.

"Congratulations Agnes," Florian said quietly as Agnes giggled quietly, still in shock at the fact that she was getting married to Victor Colleano.

"Now a wedding is something to definitely look forward too."

**So I was originally going to write the charity concert in this chapter but I thought it would be too long and I'm exhausted so I thought I'd leave it here and dedicate the next chapter completely too it. **

**Hopefully you enjoy this chapter and please review and let me know your opinions, they mean the world to me and I love hearing your responses. **

**Also anything you want to see, let me know and I'll try and fit it into the story. I do love to hear people's ideas- it normally inspires me a bit more. **


	7. Chapter 7

**I would like to apologise for how awful I have been at updating recently. I have had writer's block and I've been moving all around the country with moving out of uni and back home. I also rewrote this chapter about twenties times because I was never happy about it and I'm still not completely happy.**

**Anyway I'm back and I shall attempt to update better for the next week before I disappear to London with my wonderful twin for a Selfridges' shopping trip.**

**Thank you for your reviews, they are wonderful and I love every one I get. They mean the world to me. If you can continue to review, it would mean the world to me and lets me know that you are still interested in this story. The number of reviews I've received has gone down and I would be interested to know if you are still interested in this story or not.**

"You left early this morning," Agnes commented as she approached accessories to find Josie organising the gloves like most mornings. "Is everything alright? We missed you at breakfast," the brunette asked quietly as the older woman smiled across at her before nodding, aware that she should have probably informed someone about where she had gone that morning before she had disappeared. She wasn't completely used to living with people and it had only just hit her that someone may have been concerned about why she hadn't been at breakfast that morning.

"I had an appointment with Mr Thackeray about a dress for this evening before the shop opened," Josie admitted as a small smile began to appear on Agnes' face. "I was going to ask you to come with me but then I thought I'd save you from spending more time with him, I know that you don't like him," Josie added as Agnes laughed gently at her explanation. "And I can completely understand, he's an annoying little man. I was quite happy when I managed to leave," Josie whispered, glancing around to make sure no one was nearby when Agnes began to laugh loudly. "Agnes Towler," Josie muttered, watching as her friend covered her face with her hand in a desperate attempt to stop herself from laughing.

"I thought you already had a dress for tonight Josie," Agnes commented after she'd calmed herself down, Josie shrugging before smiling at Grace as she quickly walked passed her to serve a customer.

"I had chosen one but over the last few days I've been doubting my decision and anyway, I thought I'd spoil myself to something new, something a bit different to my usual outfit. Anyway, it's a Selfridges' event, we have to look our best, don't we?" Josie explained quickly as Agnes nodded slowly, unable to remove the smile from her face.

"Your change in decision doesn't have anything to do with a certain musician who will be there tonight?" Agnes smirked as Josie immediately stared up at her, unable to remove the shocked expression from her face as Agnes began to laugh gently.

"Of course not Agnes," Josie responded, aware that she was beginning to blush as Agnes nodded slowly. "How was Florian this morning?" Josie suddenly asked, immediately aware that her question didn't help her argument that her decision to buy a new dress had nothing to do with the musician. Of course her decision had been affected by the fact that Florian would be present that evening. She couldn't explain why her decision had suddenly been affected by the musician but she had suddenly felt the overwhelming need to wear something a bit more special, something new and something a bit different to what she already owned.

"He's nervous about this evening, although he won't admit it Josie. He had breakfast and immediately started practicing," Agnes explained as Josie nodded slowly, now aware that she would have to talk to Florian when she got home that afternoon. Hearing footsteps approaching accessories, Josie smiled as she looked across to see Victor walking towards them with a black clothing bag in his hands.

"Good morning Miss Towler, Miss Mardle," Victor greeted, smiling across at his fiancee as Agnes glanced down at her engagement ring. "One dress suit for this evening Miss Mardle," he stated, holding the clothing bag towards her as she nodded and took it from him, her smile growing as she glanced down at it.

"Thank you Mr Colleano," Josie responded, holding onto the bag even tighter as Victor smiled across at Agnes again. Josie hadn't known who else to ask about borrowing an outfit for that evening for Florian and Victor had immediately offered when she had mentioned it to him the previous day. "I don't know what I would have done without your help Mr Colleano," Josie said quietly as he shrugged.

"I'm always happy to help a friend Miss Mardle," he admitted as Agnes laughed gently.

"And can I say congratulations to you both on your engagement," Josie added quietly to the couple as he looked across at Agnes, the younger woman smiling up at him as her fingers began to play with her engagement ring. "It is a beautiful ring Mr Colleano, you made a good choice," Josie smiled as Victor beamed proudly while Agnes laughed gently at the interaction.

"Stop complimenting him Josie, it will go to his head and we never hear the end of how wonderful he is," Agnes smiled as Victor shrugged.

"I can't help it if everyone thinks I'm wonderful Agnes, it's part of my charm," Victor declared as Josie laughed gently before glancing across the store.

"If you'll excuse me," Josie apologised as the couple nodded, Josie quickly moving away from accessories with the suit. Entering the staff area, Josie smiled to herself as she hung the black bag up before she heard someone clear their throat behind her. Turning slowly, Josie felt her smile decrease at the sight of Mr Grove standing in the doorway watching her. "Mr Grove," Josie greeted as he nodded slowly. "Is there anything I can help you with?" she asked.

"I just came to see how you were," he commented, confusion appearing on her face for a brief moment as she remained silent. Why did he have a sudden interest in her now? They'd barely spoken since he married Doris, they had barely anything to discuss now. Although she had asked for his advice towards the house, she had done it because she had no one else to ask, not because she saw him as her friend.

"How is Mrs Grove? And the children?" Josie found herself asking as he smiled at her.

"They are all well thank you Miss Mardle, Doris will actually be coming with me to the concert tonight. She is rather looking forward to seeing everyone tonight," Roger explained as Josie nodded slowly, realising that she would be having an extremely awkward evening. Not only would her ex-lover's heavily pregnant wife be at the event she was attending but she also had to explain to her ex-lover that the man who was attending with her was the Belgian lodger and friend that everyone currently believed was a woman. "How is your lodger?" he questioned.

"Fine," Josie responded as she moved towards the door, unable to stop herself from smiling at the thought of the musician who was nervously practicing at home. "We have become very good friends actually," she admitted before glancing at the doorway. "I must return to work Mr Grove, I have left Miss Calthorpe incharge and accessories is probably starting to get busy now," she explained as he nodded, moving out of the way as she quickly walked out of the room. She had to try and stop finding herself alone with him, it was becoming far too awkward.

XOXOXOXOXO

"Florian," Josie called out as she walked into the house later that day, resting his dress suit on a nearby table before she removed her coat and hat. Hearing the musician continue to play, Josie smiled to herself as she collected his outfit again before moving up the stairs, enjoying the sound of the piece of music he was currently playing. Knocking on his door with her foot, Josie slowly reached out and opened it before her smile grew at the sight of Florian playing by the window, clearly unaware of her presence. "Florian," Josie smiled at him, laughing when he jumped at the sound of her voice and turned to face her, his own smile growing at the sight of her. "Hello," Josie said quietly as he nodded, quickly resting the violin on the bedside table before moving towards her.

"Hello," Florian responded, glancing down at the bag she was holding in her hands.

"Oh yes," Josie said quickly as she passed the bag to him. "It's a suit for this evening Florian, Victor helped me find one for you," she admitted, her smile growing as the musician stared up at her in shock before moving to rest the bag on the bed, quickly undoing it to reveal the suit Victor had found.

"Thank you Josie," Florian declared, turning to face her in amazement as she laughed gently.

"Well if it doesn't fit you, blame Victor Colleano," Josie added quickly as Florian laughed at her comment, unable to stop watching her as she slowly shook her head at him. Looking at him as he turned to look at the suit again, Josie bit into her lip as she thought about Agnes' earlier comment that the musician had seemed nervous about performing that evening. She knew that he would play perfectly but she could tell from how he kept glancing across at the violin that something was playing on his mind. "Florian, why don't we go for a walk?" she suddenly asked, confusion appearing on his face when he faced her. "We have a while before we need to get ready for tonight," Josie commented as Florian nodded slowly, standing up while she moved towards the door. Moving down the stairs in silence, they both quickly collected their coats before pulling them on while walking outside.

"How was your day?" Florian questioned as they walked down the street together, the brunette shrugging as they moved into the nearby park together.

"Busy as always," Josie admitted as he nodded slowly, smiling at her as their fingers brushed against each others like they usually did while walking. She wished she could hold his hand like she did at home but people didn't understand them, people didn't understand that it was possible for a man and woman to be just friends and hold hands and be together. She occasionally thought that the way they behaved towards each other was not typical for their situation as it was not the way people expected a lodger to behave towards the person they were living with, especially when it was a single young man and an older unmarried woman. "How are you feeling about tonight?" Josie asked quietly after they fell silent for a moment, the musician sighing as he glanced around the park, trying to think of how to reply. "Florian," Josie whispered, looking around her to see that no one who nearby before she quickly took hold of his hand tightly, surprising him. "Be honest with me," she added quietly as he laughed gently, releasing for the first time that he really couldn't hide anything from her.

"I am nervous," Florian admitted as their fingers laced together while they stood in the middle of the park.

"You will be wonderful tonight," Josie responded as she watched him, taking in how nervous he suddenly seemed. "They will all love you tonight Florian," Josie continued as they began to walk through the park again, their fingers still laced together as they remained close to each other. "I adore hearing you play," she added, aware that he was beginning to smile at what she had just admitted.

"What if I do something wrong tonight?" Florian questioned as he moved away from her to sit on a nearby bench while she stood perfectly still, watching him as he shook his head, clearly worried that he might make a mistake. "I haven't performed in front of an audience in months, I might make a mistake," he blurted out as she smiled at him, her arms wrapping around her body while he continued to watch her. "I do not want to embarrass you," he said quietly, shock decorating her face as she quickly walked towards him before sitting down beside him, her hand clutching onto his.

"You could never embarrass me Florian," Josie insisted, the musician remaining silent as she squeezed his hand. "You could play awfully tonight Florian, which I doubt you will, and you will still not embarrass me," she declared as he bit into his lip, a small smile appearing on her face while she shook her head. "Is it because the Suffrage ladies are attending?" she asked quietly, suddenly worried that she had been the reason that he was nervous.

"No, of course not," Florian whispered before looking across at her, taking in how concerned she looked about what he had just told her. "But you were the one who made it possible for me to perform tonight and you have always been so supportive, you've given me a future and I just want to impress…" he explained as she squeezed his hand again. "I want to impress you and your friends and colleagues."

"Florian, you have no reason to try and impress me," Josie stated. "I'm already impressed," she admitted honestly as he stared at her in amazement, their smiles growing as he squeezed her hand tightly. "You are a wonderful and talented musician Florian Dupont, you have no reason to worry about how tonight will go because I know it will go perfectly."

"I do not know what I would do without you Josie," he admitted as she laughed gently.

"I think you would do fine without me Florian," Josie responded before looking at the park and standing up, aware that they should probably return home.

"But I don't think I want too Josie," Florian whispered when she had stepped away, aware that she wouldn't have heard him.

XOXOXOXOXO

Breathing out as she sat at her dressing table, Josie smiled to herself as she finished pinning her hair back and nodded to herself. She was ready for this evening, there was nothing else she could do now. Standing up, the brunette brushed her fingers across the lace of her dress before she looked back at her reflection. She had bought a new dress for a variety of reasons and had spent the rest of the day doubting whether it had been the right choice. However, she adored the outfit she was currently wearing and was enjoying spoiling herself after years of not treating herself. There was also a small part of her that desperately wished to impress and she was aware the part of her that she was desperately trying to ignore had convinced her into purchasing a new dress because she wanted to impress the musician who was currently downstairs. Moving towards the door, Josie collected her gloves off the table before she walked out of the room and approached the stairs, smiling to herself at the sound of Agnes humming to herself from inside her bedroom.

"Are you nearly ready Agnes?" Josie called out.

"Yes," Agnes responded, Josie nodding to herself before she walked down the stairs and approached the open living room door. Approaching her living room, Josie bit into her lip as she stood in the doorway to see Florian struggling with the waistcoat of his suit, her smile growing as he practically glared down at the buttons.

"Here, allow me," Josie offered as she approached him, the musician smiling up at her as she reached down and began to deal with the buttons of the white material, aware that Florian was watching her in silence.

"It's kind of you to borrow these for me," Florian admitted as she moved to the final button while he glanced down at her fingers, focusing on how perfectly she completed the action. She always managed to do everything gracefully, even buttoning up a waistcoat.

"You need to look your best, don't you?" Josie smiled as she glanced up at him after finishing the last button, her smile growing as they looked at each other.

"Am I good?" Florian asked quietly as she nodded slowly, her fingers brushing against the buttons without her realising while he remained focused on her.

"Very good," Josie admitted, the musician smiling at her as they fell silent. She wanted to wish him luck, tell him that he would be wonderful and no matter what happened she would always believe him to be a fantastic musician. She wanted to tell him that she didn't care what anyone at the store thought of their friendship because he was one of the greatest friends she had ever had in her life. Opening her mouth to speak, Josie quickly fell silent when she heard Agnes approaching them.

"I thought you might like to wear these," Agnes admitted as Josie continued to watch Florian, taking in the small smile that decorated his face when Agnes opened the small box. "They belong to George," the brunette admitted, Josie glancing across at her before she looked down at the cufflinks.

"Are you sure?" Florian asked nervously, shocked that Agnes was offering him a possession that belonged to the brother he knew that the young woman adored.

"He'd want you to wear them," Agnes admitted as Florian took hold of the box, smiling down at them before looking up at Josie. Moving to take the box from him, Josie took in the perfect condition of the borrowed cufflinks as Agnes excused herself before leaving the room in search of her gloves.

"Would you help me with them Josie? I do not want to risk damaging them," Florian asked quietly as Josie nodded, removing one of the cufflinks from the box before putting it on his shirt cuff, glancing up occasionally to see Florian smiling at her every time. "I just want to say Josie, thank you for persuading Mr Grove to allow me to perform at the concert."

"It didn't take very much persuading and he owes me a favour anyway," Josie commented, putting the second cufflink in before nodding happily. "Now you look completely prepared for a performance at Selfridges Mr Dupont," Josie stated, watching as the musician reached across for his jacket and pulled it on.

He really was handsome.

Turning away from him as she realised what she had just thought, Josie bit into her lip as she heard Florian move across the room before the sound of him closing his violin case echoed around the room. Breathing out as she rested her hands on her stomach, Josie glanced down at her dress before biting into her lip. She had always noticed that he was a handsome young man but the way she was starting to feel when she looked at him was silly. She was an older woman, she needed to start behaving properly. It was ridiculous that she was feeling like this about a young man who was her lodger. It wasn't proper.

"Josie," Florian said quietly, interrupting her thoughts and causing her to turn to face him. "You look nice," he suddenly blurted out as she stared at him. Nice? He thought she looked nice?

"Thank you," Josie whispered, trying to hide the disappointment that was suddenly developing. "We should go, we wouldn't want to be late," Josie commented, moving quickly out of the room while Florian stood in the living room with his violin, shutting his eyes briefly, ashamed at what he had just said. Why had he said nice? There were so many words that described how she looked and nice barely described how wonderful he thought she looked.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Watching as Agnes moved away towards Victor, Josie glanced across at Roger as she felt the panic begin to increase. She wasn't sure how the redhead was going to react when Florian walked in and Roger finally learnt that she actually had a young man living with her rather than the woman he was expected to arrive to play the violin. It now seemed to her that she had been ridiculous in playing along with Roger's belief that she had a woman living with her until now, she should have explained it to him. What if Roger reacted badly to Florian's arrival?

"Good evening Miss Mardle," Roger greeted as she nodded in response, not knowing how to respond to him as she smiled weakly at him. "Where is your violinist? Mr Chapman would very much like to meet her," he admitted as Josie turned to look towards the entrance to see the musician approaching her, a nervous smile on his face as she felt herself begin to relax. It was ridiculous that he had this effect on her. He always managed to calm her.

"Oh, this is Florian, Mr Grove," Josie introduced as Roger smiled across at the man who was stood beside the brunette, holding his hand out before he glanced down to see the violin case Florian was holding, realisation appearing on Roger's face as Josie continued to smile at Florian. This was why she hadn't told Roger. It was cruel and unfair but she had wanted to see this reaction.

"But I thought," Roger commented.

"Yes, there was a bit of a mix-up, but we're happy to have Florian staying with us," Josie interrupted, not wanting Florian to know that she had been expecting a woman. They were comfortable in their domestic situation, she was not going to allow anything to disrupt that. She couldn't risk Florian learning that they had been expecting a woman and he couldn't learn that she had planned to ask him to leave. "Where is Mr Chapman?" Josie quickly asked, realising that Roger was still staring at Florian in shock.

"He's on the terrace, waiting to begin," Roger responded, still watching Florian in shock as Josie moved her hand to rest against Florian's back, unable to remove the smile from her face. She could tell that Florian was nervous from the way he was now clutching onto his violin case.

"Just through there Florian," Josie directed as she pointed him in the direction of the terrace, the musician smiling at her as she bit into her lip nervously, aware that Roger was still observing them.

"Thank you," Florian said quietly before he began to move down the aisle towards the terrace, Josie watching him as her smile continued to grow.

"Good luck," Josie called out, a small laugh leaving her lips as she watched Florian approach Richard Chapman. She could tell that although he was nervous about performing he was also excited about playing his violin for an audience of more than her, Agnes and Victor.

"I can't quite believe you have a young man living with you in your house," Roger's voice interrupted, the brunette glancing up at him as she felt her smile disappear.

"Well I couldn't turn him away, could I? Special times call for special measures, don't you think Mr Grove?" Josie asked, her voice full of determination as he fell silent. She knew that people were going to comment that she had a young man living with her but she was always going to stand by her decision to allow Florian to live with her. She had seen how lost the musician had been when he had arrived in her house and now she hated herself for ever thinking about asking him to leave. "Now if you'll excuse me," Josie stated before she turned to face Franco, now desperate to get away from Roger. "Where am I sitting?" Josie asked Franco as he smiled at her.

"Right this way ma'am," Franco responded, moving down the aisle to lead Josie to her seat as the brunette glanced back at Roger before following her colleague.

XOXOXOXOXO

Applauding as Richard Chapman finished his final song, Josie continued to focus on Florian as he smiled proudly from where he was standing, the musician watching her as she stared at him in amazement. Like she had said, he had no reason to have worried earlier. Florian had played perfectly and she had adored seeing the happiness on his face as he accompanied Mr Chapman through the various songs he had performed for the audience. Watching people begin to move to start talking, Josie quickly stood before she moved towards Florian, who was putting his violin carefully aware.

"You were wonderful, just like I knew you would be," Josie commented as Florian laughed and turned to face her, his smile growing as he looked at her.

"You enjoyed it?" he asked quietly as she nodded, her smile continuing to grow as he stepped towards her. "One day I will know the lyrics to the songs," Florian commented as Josie nodded, aware that the two events they had attended Florian hadn't known the words to any of the songs.

"I'll teach you," Josie offered, staring up at him as he nodded slowly. "Did you enjoy yourself? You looked like you were enjoying yourself," Josie commented as he laughed at her question.

"Of course I did Josie," Florian responded, falling silent when he noticed Mr Grove and a blonde woman approach them. "Mr Grove," Florian greeted politely, noticing that Josie immediately turned at the mention of the redhead's name and her smile suddenly disappeared.

"Miss Mardle, Florian," Roger greeted, suddenly aware that he didn't know the musician's full name. "I would like to introduce you to my wife Florian," Roger stated, smiling across at Doris as Florian nodded in acknowledgement.

"You are a very talented musician Florian," Doris responded as the musician smiled at her, Josie looking at the married couple before glancing up at the musician who was standing happily beside her.

"Will you start believing me now that you are good?" Josie asked as Florian laughed and nodded slowly, the two of them aware that the married couple were watching them.

"So how do you two know each other?" Doris quickly asked as Josie glanced up at Florian before looking across at the heavily pregnant blonde, taking in how radiant she looked. She had to admit, even though she didn't want too, that Doris looked beautiful and happier than she had ever done while working in accessories.

"Florian is my lodger," Josie admitted as Doris nodded.

"Doris," a voice suddenly called out, interrupting the conversation as the young blonde turned to see Kitty smiling at her.

"Excuse me," Doris smiled before moving towards the redhead.

"Where's Agnes?" Josie suddenly asked, realising that the young woman was missing from the crowd. She had expected Agnes to come over to congratulate Florian, it seemed odd that she hadn't and now she couldn't see her anywhere.

"Did you not notice the disruption?" Roger commented as Florian and Josie looked at him in confusion.

"Disruption?" Josie asked in confusion, aware that she had spent the majority of the performance focused on Florian and how perfectly he had played that evening.

"Mr LeClair was arrested, Miss Towler was distressed," Roger informed as concern covered Josie's face. Why had Henri been arrested? "I think Mr Colleano went for a walk with her, she was very upset," he explained as Josie nodded slowly, worried for her friend. She knew that Agnes cared for Henri and had been worried about him ever since he had suddenly returned from America. "Excuse me," Roger said quietly as Florian nodded in silence, both men aware that Josie was now silently worrying about her friend. Watching as Roger moved away to join his wife, Florian glanced down at the brunette, concerned about her.

"Would you like to go home?" Florian asked as Josie looked up at him.

"You don't want to stay any longer? It's your night, I'm sure there are plenty of people who will want to talk to you," Josie questioned, his head shaking at her.

"You will spend the rest of the evening worrying about Agnes Josie, you would be happier at home because that is where she will go back too after her walk," Florian explained, not mentioning how he wanted her to be happy too, while. Josie nodded in silence, glad that he understood. She didn't want to force him away from the event. Although she was concerned about Agnes, she was aware that Florian was enjoying himself. Collecting his violin as Josie remained perfectly still, Florian sighed as he watched her for a moment before returning to her side. "Let's go home."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Agnes and Henri are very close," Josie explained as they entered the house, the brunette removing her coat while Florian listened to her. "He taught her everything, he was the one who saw the true potential in her and they were very good friends before he went to America," she admitted, pulling off her gloves before she rested them on a nearby table before moving into the living room. Following her into the living room, Florian stood in the doorway as Josie stood in the middle of the room, clearly worried about their friend. "I can't quite believe he's been arrested. I thought things were improving for Agnes, she's engaged to a man who really does love her and she is happy," Josie commented as she glanced across at Florian. "She's been so stressed recently and now her friend has been arrested and her brother is at war," Josie explained.

"Josie," Florian whispered as he moved towards her. She had been worrying about Agnes the whole way home and he didn't know what to do.

"She deserves better than this, she deserves something to go right for her," Josie commented, falling silent when Florian's arm snuck around her body, his hand resting on the small of her back. "What are you doing?" Josie asked in shock, panic covering her face as he smiled down at her.

"You need to relax Josie," the musician said quietly, his free hand taking hold of one of hers as she bit into her lip. "Agnes will be home soon and then you can worry about what happened but right now, there is nothing you can do. We have had a lovely evening, let's enjoy what we have left of it," he commented as they slowly began to dance in silence, neither of them knowing what to say to each other. Glancing down at the brunette, Florian smiled as he took in how beautiful Josie looked in his arms while she focused on their feet. Breathing out, Florian continued to watch her before nodding to himself. "Josie," Florian said quietly, the brunette glancing up at him as a small smile appeared on both their faces.

"Yes," Josie responded.

"I didn't mean it when I said you looked nice earlier," Florian blurted out, confusion covering Josie's face as she stopped moving and stepped away from him. Did he think she was ugly? Had he lied to her? Why was he bringing this up now? "No, that's wrong," he suddenly added, panicking about upsetting her as Josie stared at him in confusion. "I did not mean that you do not look nice tonight Josie. You do look nice, of course you look nice, you always look nice, but nice was not the best way to describe…" he explained, Josie trying not to laugh at how flustered he was. "To describe how beautiful you look tonight," Florian sighed after falling silent.

"What?" Josie asked quietly, shock appearing on her face as she stared at him in amazement.

"Even beautiful does not do you justice Josie," Florian admitted nervously, worried that he would cross the boundaries that Josie was always concerned about.

"You think I…" she began, unconsciously stepping towards him as he continued to watch her. This was what she had wanted to hear when she had purchased the dress, even though she had refused to admit it to herself, but now that he was saying it she was shocked. She hadn't actually believed that it was possible that he would see her as beautiful. He was a young, talented and handsome man and she was old. There had been many beautiful young women in the room that evening and yet he thought she was beautiful. "Florian I…"

"Josie," Agnes' voice interrupted from the corridor, Josie's eyes shutting briefly as she tried to understand what was going on in her head. She really didn't know what she was doing anymore and part of her was relieved for the interruption in fear that she would have done something she would have ultimately regretted.

"In the living room, "Josie called out as she stepped away from the musician, who stood silently watching her. Hearing footsteps approach, Josie breathed out again in a desperate attempt to calm herself down before Agnes walked into the room, clearly distressed as Josie smiled weakly and quickly hugged her friend. "I'm sure it is nothing serious Agnes, it will all be sorted before we know it. They probably have made a mistake," she whispered, noticing when Florian smiled weakly at her and walked out of the room in silence.

"They think he's a spy," Agnes whispered, Josie's eyes shutting as she took in everything.

The police believed Henri Leclair was a spy.

Roger now knew that she was living with a man.

Florian Dupont believed that she was beautiful, and that, for some reason, made her heart flutter.

**This turned out a lot longer than I expected and I'm not happy with it but hopefully you like it and review.**

**Please do review, they mean the world to me. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Firstly, I apologise for updating so late. I've been really busy recently and writing chapters that include the episode takes a while because you have to get the script right and yeah, means I have to watch the episode over and over for a while- poor me!**

**Secondly, your reviews are amazing! The response to the last chapter was fantastic and I love hearing from each and everyone of you so please continue to read and review because it means the world to me.**

**So yeah, here's the next chapter which I hope you enjoy and please review, let me know whether you loved, liked or hated it!**

"Agnes has already left, she said she needed a walk before work," Florian stated quickly when Josie entered the dining room the following morning, her head nodding in response before she moved to sit down opposite him at the table. "How are you?" Florian asked quietly, looking across at the brunette as she watched him in confusion, his hand reaching across the table towards her as she smiled to herself. "He's your friend too," Florian whispered as Josie sighed, her hand taking his as she shrugged.

"If I'm honest," Josie said quietly as she glanced down at their hands, enjoying the touch of his holding onto hers tightly, supporting her in the only way he knew how. "It has only just hit me that we are at war," she admitted, her head shaking as she laughed gently. "I know it's silly. I have packed away all the German products in the shop, I have watched the men that I work with sign up to fight, I've learnt about how violent and distressing the war is through you and yet it has only just hit me that we are actually at war," Josie declared, her head shaking as she continued to watch their hands. "Henri is my friend. We have worked together since the store opened, he is fantastic at designing the windows of the shop," Josie smiled as Florian let go of her hand and moved to sit beside her.

"It has never affected you directly Josie," Florian replied, sitting beside her as she nodded slowly, finally glancing up at him. She had never had someone to talk to like this. She usually dealt with her own problems, she never discussed what was upsetting her with anyone but now, now he was here. He wanted to talk to her, he was always there when she needed someone to talk to about anything. He made her laugh and smile when he played the violin.

He was her friend.

She had never had as many friends as she did at the moment.

She had actual friends who wanted to spend time with her.

"I know that not everyone in the store gets along, I'm not silly and believe that everyone likes everyone," Josie admitted as Florian nodded slowly. "But the idea that someone I work with, someone that I spend everyday with, went to the police and said that Henri Leclair was a spy has made me realise that trust is no longer something you can rely on," Josie declared as she shook her head again. "Yes he hasn't been acting like himself but the idea that he was a spy," she stated, her head shaking again in shock. "How could he be a spy? He can't be a spy, can he be a spy?" she asked quietly, looking at him as she continued to stare at him in shock. "I hate this," Josie declared before standing up and shaking her head.

"Josie," Florian whispered, still watching her as she began to pace up and down the room.

"I hate that I can't even trust my instincts anymore Florian," Josie declared as she stopped and looked at Florian. "These people are my friends, they are the people that I work with and now I am doubting everything and every single one of them."

"Josie," Florian whispered.

"When I go into work today, I know that part of me will be looking at every single person wondering whether they were the one who accused Henri Leclair of being a spy and I also know that another part of me will be wondering whether he's actually a spy, whether there is some form of evidence supporting what he's been accused of," Josie declared as Florian sighed and stood up, quickly moving towards her as she continued to shake her head. "Is this what life is going to be like now until this war is over? Not trusting anyone?" she asked as he took hold of her hand.

"Look at me Josie," Florian whispered as she sighed, slowly looking at him while he squeezed her hand. "What is your heart telling you?" he asked quietly as she stared at him.

"What does that matter?" she responded.

"Just answer the question Josie," Florian said quietly, smiling at her as she bit into her lip.

"My heart says that Henri isn't a spy, that he couldn't possibly be. He is good friends with Agnes, with Mr Selfridge, he wouldn't do this to them, to the store," Josie explained as Florian nodded, squeezing her hand tightly as she stared at him.

"Trust your instincts, trust what your heart tells you," Florian stated as she nodded slowly, his hand still clutching onto hers as she bit into her lip. "And you will not spend your day asking yourself who did it or who you can trust because you are better than that, you will trust people until they have done something to prove that they are dishonest," he declared as she stayed completely silent, her head nodding slowly as his hand squeezed hers once more, trying desperately to show that he was there to support her. "Would you like me to walk with you?" he asked as Josie smiled.

"I'd like that," Josie admitted as he nodded. "I better finish getting ready."

"You haven't had any breakfast," Florian commented when she moved towards the door.

"I'm not hungry anymore," Josie sighed before moving out of the room, her head shaking as she approached her coat. Hearing footsteps behind her as she pulled her coat on, Josie turned to see Florian approaching her with a plate of toast in his hands. "Florian," Josie sighed.

"One bite," the musician ordered, a small laugh leaving her lips before she nodded slowly and took one of the slices off the plate before taking a bite. "Going to finish it?" Florian asked.

"What happened to having just one bite?" she responded, unable to remove the smile from her face as he shrugged in response.

"It was worth a try Josie," he smiled as she laughed, finishing the slice of toast before she shook her head at him.

"There, I've had breakfast, you win Mr Dupont. Can we leave now because I can't be late for work?" Josie smiled as Florian nodded, laughing at her as he grabbed his coat and followed her out of the house, the two of them walking in silence down the street. Approaching Oxford Street, Josie sighed as she turned to look at the man who was walking beside her. "Florian," Josie smiled as she stared at him, stopping in the street as Florian nodded slowly. "I just want to say thank you."

"What for?" Florian asked as Josie shrugged, glancing across at the entrance to see Mr Crabb and Mr Grove approaching the store together.

"Good morning Miss Mardle, Mr Dupont," Mr Crabb greeted as Josie nodded across at him in response while Roger watched them in silence.

"Good morning Mr Crabb, Mr Grove," Josie responded as Florian remained silent behind her, smiling across at the two men as Mr Crabb glanced at Roger.

"We shall see you in the department meeting Miss Mardle," Mr Crabb smiled before moving towards the door, turning around when he noticed that Roger wasn't following but instead still watching his colleague and the Belgian musician. "Roger," Mr Crabb called out, everyone noticing that this gained the redhead's attention before he nodded and moved towards the door, not saying anything to Josie and Florian as the two men disappeared into the building.

"Do you think everything is alright with him?" Florian asked as Josie nodded.

"He has young children, he is probably tired," Josie muttered before she looked up at Florian. "That's still not an excuse for him to be so rude though," the brunette added as Florian shrugged, both of them aware that they had been in the middle of a conversation before they had been interrupted by her colleagues.

"So what were you thanking me for?" Florian asked quietly as Josie laughed gently, realising where their conversation had halted as she nodded slowly.

"For being my friend," Josie whispered as he smiled at her while she continued to watch him. "I know that sounds silly but you are a wonderful friend to me. I am very glad that you, well, are in my life," Josie admitted as he remained silent, not knowing how to respond to her. "And also for making me have breakfast this morning, I was actually rather hungry," she admitted, both of them laughing before she glanced across at the shop entrance, aware that she had to go to work.

"I will see you this evening Josie," Florian smiled as he looked across at the brunette who nodded slowly. "Have a nice day at work," he smiled as Josie sighed, shock covering her face as two policeman entered the store.

"I doubt it is going to be a particularly nice day Florian," Josie whispered before she looked across at Florian again. "Enjoy your day," the brunette smiled as he nodded, watching her as she breathed out before moving towards the door.

It was never a good sign when two policemen entered your place of work.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

It felt like everything that could possibly go wrong in the store was all going wrong at that moment.

Henri Leclair had been arrested and was accused of being a spy.

Mr Selfridge had decided to go to Paris without telling anyone, and she had seen the worry in Mr Grove and Mr Crabb's face that morning.

And now Mr Grove was getting into the lift with her.

"Miss Mardle," Mr Grove greeted as she forced a smile onto her face.

"Mr Grove," Josie replied, her body tensing when he stood beside her and… had he really just sniffed her?

Did Roger Grove seriously just smell her in the elevator?

Seriously, who does that to someone?

"Miss Mardle, I feel I simply must broach a somewhat delicate subject," Roger suddenly stated, confusion covering her face as she glanced up at him. What was he talking about? Delicate subject? Had she done something wrong? Was something wrong with him? With Doris or the children? Was it something to do with the store?

"Mr Grove?" Josie asked quietly, now concerned.

"Your lodger," Roger stated as her concern turned into confusion.

"Florian?" Josie questioned. What did Roger want to discuss about Florian? He barely knew the man, they had talked for barely ten minutes. He had no reason to discuss Florian. Also, why was he addressing Florian as a delicate subject?

"He's a young man. And men, we both know, have certain…" Roger began as Josie looked away from him. He wasn't going to discuss this, was he? He wasn't going to make something out of her situation when there was nothing to discuss? "Urges," Roger stated as Josie bit into her lip. She was not going to let him ruin her friendship by making it sordid. "Urges they might find hard to control," Roger continued as Josie stared up at him. He surely wasn't discussing Florian. He didn't know Florian, he didn't know what he was talking about. He couldn't discuss Florian and his urges, he didn't know anything about the man.

"I'm sorry. I'm not quite sure what you're referring to," Josie responded. She had to have the wrong idea. Roger surely wasn't discussing urges Florian had, especially not towards her. He didn't have any. They were just friends. Close friends. There was nothing wrong for Roger to discuss.

"I'm merely concerned for your reputation," Roger stated as Josie continued to look at him.

"My reputation," Josie muttered. What about her reputation? There was nothing for him to be concerned about.

"He gives you a certain look," Roger stated as Josie glanced down at her feet. What was he talking about? What look? "Which only a man of similar weakness might recognise," Roger added quietly as Josie began to breathe heavily. Surely he wasn't suggesting…

He couldn't be suggesting that Florian had feelings towards her?

Florian didn't have feelings for her.

Why on earth would he have feelings for her?

"This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. There is nothing inappropriate about our arrangement," Josie stated as she turned to look away from him, aware that she was beginning to panic about the suggestion. "I don't know what to say," she stated as she moved to stand at the back of the lift, desperately trying to step away from the other man.

How could Florian possibly have feelings for her?

He was young, talented, handsome and she was old, unattractive.

She wasn't the sort of woman men like Florian fell for.

There was no way that Florian could possibly have feelings towards her.

"I'm sorry," Roger apologised quietly, not turning to face her as the doors opened and he left the elevator, Josie standing against the wall as the doors shut again and she covered her mouth with her hand.

Florian couldn't possibly have feelings for her, could he?

XOXOXOXOXO

"You are home late today," Florian commented as he stood in the doorway of the living room as Josie stepped inside the house and smiled weakly across at him before removing her coat. She didn't know what to say him. Whenever she looked at him or heard his voice she thought of what Roger had said to her. She thought about the idea that he had feelings for her, that Florian was attracted to her like Roger believed him to be. "How was work today?" Florian asked, watching her as she shrugged and began to remove her hat. She didn't know how her day had been. It wasn't a normal day at Selfridges. It had been a day full of suspicion and comments.

"Long," Josie finally commented before looking up at him. He really was a young man. There was no way that he could possibly have feelings for her. "I am going to get changed Florian," Josie said quietly, moving towards the stairs while Florian watched her in silence. Turning on the stairs briefly to see Florian watching her, Josie sighed before she moved up the stairs and quickly entered her bedroom, shutting the door behind her before she shook her head.

She hated Roger for doing this.

For making her think about every single day of her friendship with Florian and assessing how he had behaved, how she had behaved, and whether it was possible that he had feelings for her.

She knew that they didn't have society's expected friendship. She was aware that they were closer than friends should be. She was aware that they were physically closer than people saw to be acceptable but that was how their relationship worked.

They had been happy and now Roger's comments were ruining everything for her.

Shaking her head at Roger's thoughts, Josie slowly began to undress before resting the black outfit on the bed and moving towards her wardrobe, collecting her blouse and skirt. Pulling the skirt on, Josie sighed before she pulled on the white material and stared at her reflection. She was definitely too old. It was ridiculously unlikely that any young man, especially someone as talented as Florian, would fall for her, especially when she looked like this. She was old and unattractive, no one would ever have feelings for her. Buttoning up her blouse, Josie sighed as she glanced across at the door, the sound of Florian's violin filling the house as she shook her head again. Why did Roger have to comment on everything?

"I hate you Roger Grove," Josie whispered to herself as she sat down on the edge of her bed, staring at the doorway as she listened to Florian play the violin downstairs.

She had to talk to Florian.

She needed to face Florian and ask him.

She needed Florian to tell her that he didn't have feelings for him, that the whole idea was ridiculous and that there was nothing to discuss.

Breathing out, Josie nodded to herself before she stood up and approached the door, her hand hovering above the handle as she rested her forehead against the wood. She needed to talk to him. She needed to just ask him. She wouldn't be content until she knew that Roger was wrong and she could return to normality. She hated being unable to talk to the man who was her friend. Slowly opening the door, Josie breathed out before she moved down the stairs and moved towards the living room, her hands playing with the sleeves of her blouse nervously. She didn't know how to do this. Watching him from the hallway, Josie smiled weakly as the musician glanced up from his violin and looked at her, a small smile decorating his face as he moved the violin away.

"That was truly lovely," Josie commented as she moved towards him while Florian began to put the instrument away.

"Music is beautiful. All I have to do is play," Florian responded as Josie nodded slowly, watching him in silence. She didn't know how to do this. How was she supposed to ask him whether he had any urges towards her, like Roger had suggested?

"Florian, there is something that has been brought to my attention," Josie stated, glancing up at him when she finally got the sentence out. There was no going back now, she had started the conversation, she had to finish it now. "A suggestion that I am sure is quite ridiculous, but now it has been made, well I feel we need to clear the air, as it were," Josie continued while Florian remained silent, his eyes remaining completely focused on her.

"Yes?"

"I'm afraid it is rather personal," Josie admitted before looking away, embarrassed that she was even discussing this matter with him.

"If you wish me to pay rent…" Florian began as Josie glanced up at him in shock.

"Rent? Rent?" Josie asked quietly before shaking her head, amazed that he believed she would ever ask him to pay rent. She had invited him to live with her and she had no issues with money. She would never ask Florian to pay rent. "Oh, goodness me, no! Not money. Nothing to do with money," Josie explained as Florian moved towards her, far more relaxed than she currently was. She wanted to be able to relax, she wanted to be calm and enjoy his company rather than being completely tense.

"Please. You can say anything to me," Florian smiled at her as she looked down at his hands. Maybe they did hold hands more than was normal for a woman and her lodger. Maybe they were too close.

"Very well, I shall," Josie finally admitted as she continued to look at his hands. He was always using his hands to play the violin, to hold hers, to provide her with support and comfort. She always seemed to be focused on his hands. Swallowing, Josie breathed out before she found the courage to look up at him again. She was going to face him, she was not going to be coward. "It has been suggested that you may have developed a mild ardour for me. Something that could perhaps go beyond what is proper if we are to continue on with our domestic arrangement," she admitted as they continued to watch each other, neither of them looking away as she breathed out. "Do you understand?" Josie finally asked, desperate for him to tell her that it was a silly idea.

"You are asking if I have fallen in love with you?" Florian responded quietly, remaining completely focused on her. She wished that he would occasionally look away rather than having his focus completely on her. It was unnerving almost, to be the object of his full attention.

"Well, yes. Well, no," Josie blurted out as she shook her head. She didn't know how to explain what she was asking. She didn't think love was what had been suggested. Surely that wasn't what Roger had been suggesting that morning. "No. I merely…"

"It is true," Florian interrupted, Josie immediately glancing up at him in shock as he smiled at her.

He couldn't?

How could he?

Surely he didn't.

Florian did not love her.

"I have," Florian admitted as she stared at him again. He was in love with her? Florian Dupont was in love with her? How could he be in love with her? Opening her mouth to speak, Josie continued to focus on him as the words failed her. How could he possibly love her? What on earth had he found to love about her? How could someone young and attractive be in love with someone like her?

"You've fallen in love with me?" Josie asked quietly, almost struggling to control her breathing while remaining shocked by what he had just told her. He must have misunderstood. He couldn't possibly feel like that towards her.

"Is it so surprising?" he asked, his voice full of amazement as he remained completely focused on her. Why couldn't he look at something else, even for a second? Why did he keep staring at her like she was the only thing in the room? Like there was nothing else around to catch his attention.

"Well, frankly, yes," Josie admitted as she began to look around the room, no longer able to look at him while he continued to watch him. "I am so much older than you for a start. And… And then there are the cultural differences not to mention the…" she began, almost trying to talk him out of his feelings, before his lips were suddenly on hers. Feeling the musician deepen the kiss, Josie quickly moved her hands to his head, her right arm wrapping around his head while her left cupped his cheek. He was kissing her. Florian Dupont was kissing her and his arms were wrapping tightly around her body, keeping her close to him as he continued to kiss her.

Why wasn't she pulling away?

Why wasn't she stopping this?

She had to stop this.

She had to stop it, she had to stop his arms tightening around her body and the feeling of his lips on hers.

It had to stop now.

Pulling away from him slowly, Josie cupped his face with both hands as she stared up at him, amazed at what they had just done. They couldn't do this. She couldn't do this. This wasn't right. They were two completely different people, this would never be right.

"I'm sorry. I can't," Josie whispered against his lips apologetically before she stepped away, quickly turning towards the door. "I can't," Josie whispered to herself, moving out of the room as fast as possible, guessing that Florian was probably still watching her. Practically running up the stairs, Josie quickly moved into her bedroom before shutting the door and resting her back against the wood. "I can't, I can't do it," Josie whispered to herself as she shut her eyes, suddenly feeling like she was about to cry as she began to realise that she might possibly have feelings for the musician too.

XOXOXOXO

Moving down the stairs after she had heard Florian enter his bedroom and shut the door, Josie sighed as she wrapped her arms tightly around her chest. Was this what she was going to do from now on? Sneak around and try and avoid the musician whose touch she could still feel on her lips? He was her friend, he was the man who had walked with her to work this morning because she had been upset about everything that had happened and now she was avoiding him because he had kissed her and he had admitted that he was in love with her. Hearing a knock at the door, Josie turned to face it before moving towards it, forcing a smile onto her face as she opened it to see the postman standing on the doorstep with an envelope in his hands.

"It is for Miss Towler," the postman said quietly, clearly saddened by what it might possibly hold as Josie glanced down at the envelope before nodding. Taking it from the man, Josie smiled weakly as he disappeared again while she continued to stare at it.

"Oh George," Josie whispered as she stepped inside, unable to remove her focus from the letter in her hand as she shook her head. She didn't want to even think about what was written inside the telegram as she shut the door and moved through the corridor. How could Agnes get anymore bad news? Henri Leclair was in prison and she had now received a telegram which could possibly contain the worst news possible. The telegram in her hand could possibly tell Agnes that her brother, the only family she had, had been killed in action. Sitting down on her armchair, Josie continued to hold onto the telegram as she bit into her lip. Agnes could have lost her brother and Josie's biggest problem was the young musician upstairs who was in love with her. "Please don't be dead," Josie whispered as she clung onto the envelope. "George Towler please don't be dead," Josie begged, her attention suddenly taken by the sound of the front door opening and laughter filling the house. She didn't want to be the barer of bad news when Agnes sounded so happy right now. Breathing out, Josie sighed before she stood up and moved towards the door. How could she do this? How could she give the telegram to Agnes when she was happy and laughing? Moving into the corridor, Josie slowly approached the younger woman, who fell silent, before holding the envelope out towards her.

"It's a telegram."

**Review? Please, it does mean the world to me.**

**Also I have had a couple of people request a DuMardle baby story, which I am very happy to write now and I was wondering whether anyone else was interested. Just let me know via review or PM and give me your opinion on whether that is something you are interested in reading. If so, I will probably start writing it at the same time as this one as I have a lot of free time ahead of me.**

**So yeah, let me know your thoughts and opinions on the chapter and the possibility of a future story and yeah, I will be updating quicker now. **


	9. Chapter 9

**I am so so sorry that it has taken me so long to update. I have had terrible writer's block over the last couple of weeks as I have a week to fit in between episodes and it's been difficult to think of what to write. Anyway, please forgive my lateness of updating and hopefully you enjoy the chapter because there's now tension between the wonderful DuMardle.**

**Thank you for your wonderful reviews as well, you are honestly fantastic and I hope you continue to read and enjoy this story. I do love writing it and I hope you continue to enjoy reading it as it progresses.**

**This is a shorter chapter, I'm sorry but I'm really struggling to think of what to write between the two episodes. Hopefully you do enjoy it and review, it really does mean the world to me.**

**Also to those who were interested in a baby story, I am in the process of writing the first chapter and that should be up soon so hopefully you will enjoy that as well.**

"Agnes, Agnes you need to wake up," Josie declared as she quickly moved into the younger woman's bedroom, panic covering her face as she watched the younger woman toss and turn in the bed while moaning, almost like she was in agony. "Agnes," Josie called out, sitting gently on the edge of the bed as she reached out and brushed her fingers across Agnes' cheek. She could almost see the agony on her friends face as Agnes continued to toss and turn in her sleep, Josie's concern growing as she moved her hand to her friends shoulder and gently shook her. She needed to wake her up, she needed to comfort her friend. "Agnes," Josie called out again, her voice louder this time as Agnes quickly opened her eyes and stared up at the older woman, clearly panicked. "You were having a nightmare," Josie explained,as the younger woman sat up slowly, embarrassment covering her face as she glanced down at her lap in silence. "Do you want to talk about it Agnes?" Josie questioned as she continued to sit beside her, watching as the younger woman covered her face with her hands and rested back against the pillows, clearly embarrassed about having a nightmare. Hearing a knock at the door, Josie quickly glanced across before it opened and Florian stepped inside with a cup of tea in his hands. "Florian," Josie whispered, Agnes not changing position as the musician silently approached the bed and rested the cup of tea on the side.

"I'm sorry for waking you Florian," Agnes said quietly, slowly opening her eyes to look across at him while Josie tried desperately to face away from him. She hadn't seen him since she had run away from the living room, terrified about the fact that such a young and attractive man believed himself to be in love with her.

"You have no reason to apologise Agnes," Florian smiled at the younger woman while Josie continued to sit beside her in silence, listening to their conversation. "I know what it is like Agnes to have nightmares," he admitted quietly, his voice almost silent as Josie glanced up at him, remembering the many evenings she had spent with the musician, waking him up after she had found him in the middle of a nightmares. She had almost forgotten that that was where their friendship had first developed, over conversations in the middle of the night when he was distressed and she was trying to console him. "And Agnes, it is better to talk about it. It does help," Florian admitted as the younger woman stared up at him before nodding slowly. "I shall go…" he whispered, stepping away from the bed as Agnes bit into her lip nervously.

"I don't want to talk about it, I don't want to even think about it," Agnes whispered, her fingers brushing stray tears away from her face as Josie sat in silence. Agnes had already had to deal with the loss of her mother, an alcoholic father and the various issues that were happening with Henri Leclair. It wasn't fair that she now had to deal with George missing as well. "Thank you for the tea Florian," the brunette mumbled, glancing across at the cup that rested on her bedside table while Josie continued to sit silently beside her before looking up at the musician. She could see the concern on his face as he continued to watch the younger woman, taking in how distressed she seemed as she rested against her pillows and shut her eyes again. Standing up silently, Josie quickly bit into her lip as the musician immediately turned to face her before looking across at the young woman again.

"I am going to get a glass of water," Josie whispered, excusing herself from the room, as Florian nodded slowly, turning to face her again while she slowly moved towards the door. It felt so awkward now between them. She couldn't look at him anymore without thinking about his lips on hers and how his hands had caressed her body and kept her close to him. Even when she heard his voice all she thought about was how he had corrected her, how he had told her that she loved him. Stepping out of the room, Josie sighed before she moved to shut the door.

"Does it get any easier? Do they stop?" Josie heard Agnes asked, stopping her from shutting the door as she stood in silence. "The nightmares? Do they ever stop? Have yours stopped?" the younger woman continued to ask, clearly worried as Josie stood by the door in silence.

"Yes, it does get easier eventually," Florian replied as Josie bit into her lip, aware that it was wrong to be listening into their conversation when they believed her to be downstairs. However, she wanted to know that Agnes was alright and she was glad that she was able to confide in someone, even if it wasn't her. "It is hard but thing's happen, things that make you change how you think about things. I still miss my family and I do dream about them but now…" the musician continued before falling silent.

"Now?" Agnes responded quietly.

"Now I have you and… And Josie," Florian explained as Josie shut her eyes, embarrassed to admit that she enjoyed how her name sounded when Florian said it. "I don't know where I would be now if I hadn't met the two of you, if Josie hadn't welcomed me into her home like she did," Florian continued as Josie bit into her lip. She hated how grateful Florian was even when she had pushed him away and hurt his feelings. She had basically told him that what he felt was wrong, had pushed him away from her and was avoiding him and yet he was still grateful.

"She helped you with the nightmares," Agnes stated as Josie opened her eyes and stared up at the door, waiting to hear what Florian had to say. Had she helped him with the nightmares? She was aware that he had stopped having them, that his moans no longer woke her up.

"Sometimes you need someone, someone who you can talk too about anything and trust and it makes your life easier," Florian explained as Josie bit into her lip, her fingers slowly moving to rest above the door handle. "When you tell someone Agnes, when you share your problems, you share it, you remove all the pressure from yourself and you have someone else who can help you," the musician continued as the older woman bit into her lip. "Josie is…" he began as Josie stared at the door, waiting to hear what he had to say while desperately hoping he wasn't going to say anything about his feelings to Agnes. "She was my someone," the musician admitted as Josie turned away from the door, her fingers running through her hair while she slowly walked towards her room in silence.

"He loves me," Josie whispered as she shut the door and rested her back against the wood, shock covering her face as she stared across her empty room. "He really does love me," Josie said to herself, suddenly realising how serious the musician had been earlier.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

_She was my someone._

_She was my someone._

_She was my someone._

_She was my someone._

"Josie," a voice called out, interrupting her thoughts as Josie looked across to see Florian stood in front of her. She had just left the shop on her break, in desperate need of a break. She needed some time. She needed to think about the young woman who was currently sat at home waiting for news on her brother. She needed to think about her lodger who was in love with her and who she had pushed away, knowing that it was the right decision. She needed to think about how to deal with her current living situation because it was extremely awkward. She had left the house early because Agnes had decided to take the day off due to a lack of sleep and Josie wanted to avoid an awkward breakfast with the musician.

"Florian what are you doing here? I am working," Josie stated as he shrugged, moving towards her as she remained perfectly still. "You shouldn't be here Florian, I only have a short amount of time before I have to be back at accessories and I need a cup of tea," she continued before walking past him while he watched in silence.

"I need to talk to you Josie," Florian announced, following her as she ordered her needed cup of tea and breathed out, finally turning to face him.

"Florian we can't talk now, I need to get back to work," Josie explained, taking hold of tea once it was made before breathing out and taking in the sight of him. He looked exhausted, like he hadn't been sleeping again but his focus remained completely on her. Not once did he look away from her or become distracted by anything or anyone else on the busy street.

"You really are trying your hardest to never see me," he commented, the disappointment that echoed in his voice feeling like a stab in her heart. She didn't want to hurt him like this, that wasn't what she wanted at all. She was trying to protect him from himself. "I tell you that I am in love with you and you try your best to remove me from your life," he announced, noticing that Josie immediately glanced around to see if anyone nearby was listening to their conversation.

"I am not discussing this with you here or now Florian. We will talk about it when I get home," she stated firmly. She was at work, even if she wasn't inside the building, and anyone could hear and gossip about what they had overheard.

"No we won't Josie. You will pretend this conversation never happened," Florian ranted as she bit into her lip, realising how angry he was. Even worse, Josie could see the disappointment in his face and that hurt even more. She had disappointed him and he was hurt, she had been the one who had hurt him. "You will do anything to avoid a conversation about how I feel about you," he whispered.

"Florian," Josie said quietly, her desperation for the conversation to end obvious.

"You want to forget everything we have done together as friends because I have somehow ruined it by falling in love with you," Florian explained as Josie glanced down at her feet. She hated how he could read her, how he could tell that she was avoiding him and that she was desperately trying to avoid discussing how he felt towards her. He wanted to love her, to be with her and she just wanted to hide, to avoid any emotions that would one day hurt her.

"Florian stop it," Josie begged, hating hearing the truth from him.

"You want nothing more to do with me do you? I can see that now," Florian whispered, clearly hurt as she shut her eyes for a brief moment.

"Florian please, can we talk about this at home? In private," Josie whispered as Florian shook his head, the brunette watching him in silence as he continued to stare at her. She was breaking his heart, it was written all over his face but she was doing this for him. He couldn't love her, it was too complicated and she wasn't going to let herself be hurt again by letting herself fall for someone who was completely inappropriate. First it was a married man, now it was a younger one.

"Don't worry Miss Mardle, I shall leave you now to go back to work. My feelings and I won't intrude on your life anymore, you will barely know that I am here," the musician stated, walking away before Josie could say anything. She didn't want to lose him. She didn't want to lose him as a friend but she couldn't let him be in love with her. He wanted too much by falling in love with her. He would want a relationship, something that she was not willing to give again. She was not stupid, she wasn't going to make the same mistakes twice. She would not let her heart go through the same pain she had felt with Roger.

"Miss Mardle?" a voice asked, interrupting her thoughts as she turned to see Roger standing behind her. "Is everything alright?" he questioned, panic covering Josie's face as she began to wonder how long he had been standing there. Had he heard Florian declare that he had feelings for her, that he was in love with her? Had Roger worked out that Josie had confronted him and now the musician barely wanted to be around her because of the pain she had caused? "Is there anything I can help with Josie?" Roger asked, looking down the street in the direction Florian had disappeared in.

"Yes there is actually," Josie declared as she looked up at her previous lover. If he hadn't commented on Florian then nothing would have happened. She would be laughing with the musician and enjoying his company rather than avoiding him and having him hate her for refusing to accept his feelings. "You could leave me alone," Josie stated firmly before binning her untouched tea and walking towards the store, her frustration growing as she moved into the building. She needed to stop thinking about Florian, at least for the rest of her shift. It was ridiculous how much this was affecting her, how much seeing the pain on his face also hurt her more than she could have ever imágined.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Florian hadn't joined them for dinner and Agnes had quickly retreated to her room after completing her meal, leaving Josie alone for most of the evening. It felt odd, being alone in her living room after adjusting to having two other people in her home. She was used to the noise of Agnes laughing about something and Florian playing the violin, she hadn't heard him play even for a minute since the kiss two days ago. She had gotten used to company and now that she was alone again, with her two lodgers grieving for two completely different reasons, it hurt even more than it had done all those years she had lived alone and the house seemed even bigger and emptier now.

"Bed," Josie whispered to herself, glancing across at the clock to see that it was almost eleven in the evening. She didn't know where the time had gone. She had been sat in her room for most the evening, hating how large the living room felt while thinking about how the war had brought her one friend, a friend she was beginning to lose, and how the war was destroying another friend through possibly taking away the brother she adored. Climbing out of the chair in her room, Josie quickly moved towards her bed before a noise caught her attention. She hadn't heard that specific noise in weeks, although Agnes' nightmare the previous evening had caused similar sounds. Moving out of her bedroom slowly, Josie approached Florian's room in silence before standing by the door, her eyes shutting at the familiar sounds of the musician having a nightmare. "No," Josie whispered gently, not knowing what to do anymore. She didn't know whether she could go into the room and comfort him anymore, like she used to do.

**It's an awful chapter, I apologise but yeah, I'm trying to think of how they would be behaving towards each other at the moment and it's difficult. I really do hope you enjoy it and please review, it means the world to me and they make me so happy.**

**Also, if there's anything you want to see in the story feel free to tell me and I will try to do it. **

******Next chapter will follow on from this one and we will see whether Josie goes to Florian or not…**  



End file.
